


Solid Foundations

by RachelCraft



Series: House!Venom AU [1]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dream Sex, M/M, Masturbation, Mild Horror, Other, Porn With Plot, Tentacle Sex, Venom AU, Venom as a Haunted House, a weird combination of fluff and angst and smut, fluff that gets creepy, haunted house au, lots of smut, possible dubcon, sort of a slow burn, things take a turn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-09-14 11:37:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16912170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RachelCraft/pseuds/RachelCraft
Summary: Eddie set his alarm clock and flopped onto the bed, grateful to spend the first night in his own place. No more noisy neighbours or walking down dodgy streets to get home. He was going to take care of this place, make it into something special. He sighed with contentment. This was his house now.Only, it wasn't.________________________Eddie thought his new house came at a surprisingly bargain price. Little did he know that its problems had nothing to do with ghosts.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Please check notes at the end for more info/spoiler on dubcon element.
> 
> Thank you to EponineT and sarkany for the beta.

What kind of idiot moves house on a Wednesday? Eddie Brock, that's who.

Actually, technically, he was moving from an apartment _to_ a house. He still couldn't believe it. On his salary? A whole house just himself? And it has a garden!?

It was, of course, not in the best shape. A 'fixer-upper' as you might call it. The outside paint, that someone had long ago done in black and grey, was peeling. The fixtures were old; the rooms were gloomy. The garden was totally overgrown.

But, as the estate agent, Sophie, brightly pointed out, "it just needs a bit of TLC! It's pest-free, watertight, and structurally sound. A bit of love and attention and it'll be as good as new again."

Eddie didn't really want 'as good as new' though. He liked how old it was. It was one of the oldest houses on the street with a slightly gothic aesthetic that stood out from the other pastel shaded perfection. He liked the weird furniture and dated carpets. It said 'lived in'.

"All the heating and plumbing works, right?" There had to be catch; Eddie was positively sniffing around for it. No way was he getting a mostly furnished house for this cheap.

The estate agent's eyes dulled a little. "Well, she is an old one. Everything works, but..."

"But?"

She shrugged with a smile. "I'll be honest - every time it was tested, everything was up to code, but the previous owners had, well, they had complaints."

"Such as?"

"Noise, mostly. Lack of hot water. Bulbs blowing out. But every time an electrician or plumber was called, nothing was wrong."

"Maybe she just didn't like the owners?" he said with a smile, running a finger down a door frame.

"Quite possibly," Sophie continued. "She comes with a reputation, this one." She huffed out a sigh."I really shouldn't be telling you all this."

"As sales pitches go, it's not the best."

"I know, I know." She woke up her tablet and starting scrolling through listings. "I do have some others we could see this afternoon?"

"No, it's okay. I'll take her."

Sophie practically jumped on him. She had been trying to move this house for nearly a year and could have cried with joy. She just really hoped it didn't end like the last time someone moved in. They had only lasted three weeks.

 

The first night was the night the dreams started.

It was late in the day when Eddie brought the last of the boxes up the steps and waved off the removal van. He didn't actually have that much stuff to move, but a last-minute deadline had messed up his plans and everything had to be shoved back. He'd already ordered a pizza to be delivered.

He flicked on the lights in the house; the bulbs dimmed before they steadied.

The layout was pretty standard. The front door opened onto a hallway where the stairs swept upwards to the left and archways led off into the living room and down to the kitchen. It was all hardwood flooring stained very dark that would need to be sanded back and revarnished, but the real joy was the carved details. All up along the balustrade, over support beams, picture rails and door frames were twisted vines sculpted into the wood. Eddie couldn't stop touching them. They were everywhere and so beautifully done.

He took his box into the lounge and put it down by the bay window with the others. The room was dominated by a large fireplace which he already had plans to get working again. He was fairly sure the carpet was last changed in the 70's, the design looking gaudy even with its dull colours; the walls were probably once a pretty shade of blue. The furniture was sparse. The couch was a good size, but lumpy and hideously uncomfortable. However, the coffee table was useful, and there was already a unit to put his TV on.

He retrieved another box from the steps outside and brought it into the dining room. This was accessed directly from the lounge, but had two sliding doors to block it off if needed. In its centre was a frankly huge table that could probably sit eight, but came with six chairs. The room was lined with shelves, and Eddie figured it would make a pretty good office. A door at the back was another way to get into the kitchen.

He brought his last boxes in here. It was surprisingly spacious in a sort of L-shape with two big windows that looked out onto the patio. To his right, along the back wall of the dining room, was the stove, oven, and a 60's looking fridge. To his left, along the outside wall of the house was the sink, a freezer, and lots of counter space. Dated cabinets ran above and below on both sides. So much space for his meagre possessions. In front of the window on the far side was a small table and chairs to make a breakfast nook. He put the boxes down and unlocked the back door to the garden.

Well, maybe once it was called a garden. Right now it was an overgrown jungle, strangled with weeds and grass. Eddie already made plans to tackle it on the weekend and had hired power tools to be collected on Friday. He imagined that he might be able to hang a hammock up or discover that he had more of a green thumb than he currently believed. His previous houseplants would offer strong evidence that he didn't.

He was about to start looking into the basement when his pizza arrived. Just hearing the 'ding dong' of the doorbell made him smile. He sat on the sofa eating his dinner and picturing how he was going to change things. Not massively, just make the whole place brighter, a little more tasteful. He let his imagination run completely wild as if there was no budget and he had all the time in the world to do renovations. He looked about picking out all the features he would keep. Really, it was just the carpet, wallpaper, and furniture he'd change, but even just those changes were a lot to ask with his budget.

 

Eddie decided to leave the unpacking till tomorrow and just got the essentials out for tonight.

He carried a suitcase and duffle bag upstairs and placed both on the landing. The carpet was threadbare and moth-eaten, and felt very scratchy against his feet.

There were two main bedrooms, one at the front and one at the back. The front one was technically the master bedroom and shared the chimney with downstairs, meaning it had a real fireplace. But it was also the only unfurnished room in the house. Eddie had no idea what he was going to with it. He couldn't think of a time when he'd need a guest room, but maybe he could take up some sort of hobby and make it into a studio?

Between the two bedrooms was a family bathroom that had seen better days. It had a good sized tub and shower with excellent water pressure, but the tiles were cracked and faded, and covered in grime. The mirror was hard to see into, and the taps spluttered brown liquid before they ran clear. For tonight though, it was good enough to brush his teeth. And though the toilet was loud, it worked.

The back bedroom was smaller than the front one. The walls were a queasy green colour, the carpet just as bad as the landing, and the wardrobe and dresser looking like something from a youth hostel. But there was a nightstand and a working lamp, and a nice big window to let in all the morning light.

Eddie rooted around in his duffle bag for his sleep clothes and paused to take in the gem that came with the all the house. It was a huge black wrought iron bed frame, easily a king size, that sat in the middle of the wall. Amazingly it didn't creak and came with a better mattress than he already had, though how it fit through the door frame was beyond him. He had to buy new sheets for it, but it was totally worth it.

Eddie set his alarm clock and flopped onto the covers, grateful to spend the first night in his own place. No more noisy neighbours or walking down dodgy streets to get home. He was going to take care of this place, make it into something special. He sighed with contentment. This was his house now.

Only, it wasn't.

He came to writhing in pleasure under a shroud of black. Every part of him was being touched and held and squeezed in just the right way to send him crazy. The pressure around his cock was intense. It moved and twisted along his shaft drawing out strangled moans from his lips. It found his most sensitive spots and hammered them with sensation, inching his climax ever closer. His body thrashed, arching into the air, seeking more and more contact. He wanted more, his hands grasping deep into the ink, the strain building and threatening to break at any moment.

And then Eddie woke up.

He groaned in frustration at the loss of the dream. He was so damn close and, he quickly realised, painfully hard.

 _'Suppose I had better christen the new bed then_ , he thought with a grin.

He rolled onto his back and palmed himself through his shorts. He knew it wouldn't take long once he started properly, so he let his mind wander back to the dream first. Who knows what he'd been watching to conjure up those images? But, god damn, was it hot. He could almost still feel the rolling embrace across his skin, the tightness of its hold.

Eddie released his own cock from its cotton prison and, utilizing the copious amounts of precome, stroked his length. He imagined it was the black goo doing it, looping hot tentacles around his dick and working it. He moved quicker now, the heat in his gut growing, his need overpowering his other senses. He grabbed the headboard, his toes curling. It was going to be a good one, he could tell.

And it was.

He moaned loudly as he came, no longer having to worry about thin walls and nosy neighbours. Hot cum covered his hand and his hips stuttered through the high. He was left gasping, tiny aftershocks of pleasure spasming through his body.

"Fuck _me_."

He hadn't had an orgasm that good in ages. It was an excellent way to start the day.

The pipes in the bathroom clunked as he turned on the shower, but soon the water was marvelously hot. It didn't take long to wash away the morning's activities, but the tub was in desperate need of a good scrubbing. Another job for later.

Freshly dressed, Eddie skipped down to the kitchen. He started rummaging around in the boxes for his 'World's Most Okay Reporter' mug. It had actually been a gift from his ex, Anne, and even though they'd long since broken up, it was still his favourite cup. But he couldn't find it. He knew he'd packed it, even covered it in bubble wrap to stop it getting broken, but it wasn't anywhere. Did he leave it at the old place?

The kitchen cabinets rattled gently and caught his attention. There was the mug on the counter top. Eddie blinked. Did he unpack it last night and just forget? It was possible he supposed. Didn't matter anyway, he needed coffee and to get to work.

However, he didn't notice how the pizza box was already in the trash or how the leftovers were now in the fridge. Eddie hadn't actually remembered to even turn the fridge on yesterday, but it was running now. He had been more concerned with getting the coffee maker set up and scrolling through his phone.

As he was leaving, he looked back into his new house.

"See ya later, darlin'."

He chuckled to himself as he closed the door.

 

It was dark by the time Eddie got home. Loaded with bags of groceries, he struggled with the lock then flicked on the lights. No dimming today.

"Honey, I'm home!" He called with a smile. Of course there was no response.

As he placed the shopping down on the counter he rubbed at his neck. He'd been sitting at a bad angle for most of the day due to a stupid Editors meeting and now his muscles felt sore. He could really use a massage.

That was when he noticed the old radio on top of the fridge. It had been there yesterday, right? Instead of just looking retro, it actually was retro. He switched it on hoping it would still work and deciding that he would try to fix it anyway if it didn't. The speaker instantly sprang to life bursting quiet static into the room. He fiddled with the knobs trying to find a station and eventually settled on one playing old jazz and swing music.

"That'll do nicely."

He bopped a little to the beat as he finished unpacking then made a start on dinner. It was just a simple stir-fry, and he took it to the sitting room to eat once ready. The cable and internet weren't going to be connected till next week, so he hooked his laptop up to his TV and watched a film he had downloaded a while ago.

Was it his imagination or did the couch feel more comfortable tonight? In the dim light from the screen, the room definitely felt cosier than yesterday. Maybe a little bigger even? But that couldn't be right. He was just mis-remembering the space, that's all. Trick of the light combined with a tired mind. And suddenly he was very tired. He rolled his head trying to undo the knot in his neck, but it was no good. He hoped it would be fine in the morning.

Leaving his dishes for future Eddie to sort out, he trundled upstairs to brush his teeth and snuggle down into his wonderful new bed.

 

He hadn't been lying there long when he felt something tug at his tank top. Actually there were multiple somethings, and they were all trying to remove it.

Eddie obliged and allowed the long black tentacles to lift his top over his head exposing his chest to the pleasantly cool air. They instantly returned and melted into thick liquid that blanketed his shoulders and dripped further down to cover his nipples. His breath hitched at the touch. It was warm and soft, but was accompanied by a steady pressure kneading into his neck. _That_ made him groan. It was just the right amount to loosen all the knots.

"Oh that feels _amazing_."

Another tentacle joined the fun by wrapping around his left wrist and tangling in his fingers. His left ankle got a similar treatment with black ooze pressing through his toes like mud. It was an oddly relaxing sensation.

The fourth tentacle appeared through the mattress and coiled upwards along his right thigh. The end rested on his hip bone and invitingly stroked his skin. Eddie got the distinct impression that it was waiting for something.

"Go for it, love." It was, after all, just a dream. Right?

The tentacle gave a squeeze and started rubbing his cock through his shorts. Eddie's head fell back with a moan, and he lifted his hips trying to gain more friction. The gentle touch on his nipples became firmer, almost a pinch, the action on his neck not stopping for a moment.

As his erection grew, the tentacle kept on rubbing and nudging it till it was pointing straight up. Eddie would have been perfectly happy to cum just like that, but clearly that wasn't enough.

The larger tentacle split into dozens of smaller feelers that dove under the waistband and curled around his throbbing dick. They instantly started moving and Eddie hissed through his teeth. This was so much better than his hand. They were going in opposite directions at the same time, running under his foreskin and over the head, using all of his precome as lube. They pulled and squeezed and lavished attention on every millimeter of skin.

All Eddie could do was moan and thrash, one hand full of tentacle, the other his bed sheets. He was so close, it wasn't going to take much more. And then the feelers moved onto his balls.

Eddie's eyes snapped open.

"No, no! Not again!" he whined into his pillow.

He thumped the mattress in frustration at being denied once more. Of course his cock was rock hard under him, the dampness spreading across his cotton shorts. He started mindlessly grinding down, maybe he could get it done quickly, but a glance at the clock told him he didn't have time for that.

With an angry groan he forced himself out of bed and decided to finish up the shower. He rather failed to notice how he wasn't wearing a tank top anymore.

Eddie braced one hand on the tile, the gloriously warm water raining down on him. It was easy to go back into the dream, it was practically the same temperature. His hand was a blur, the sensation of wetness dripping off his balls only aiding his efforts. His thighs strained as his hips thrust into his fist. It didn't take long. His head snapped back as his orgasm rode through him, his moans enhanced by the bathroom acoustics, his cum instantly being washed away. It wasn't as good as yesterdays, but it definitely wasn't bad.

In the afterglow he spotted a large water stain on the ceiling. It looked old, and rather broke the mood. He wiped his face and got on with the rest of his morning.

Today there was time for toast as well as coffee. He switched on the radio for company as he scrolled through his phone eating his breakfast. The whole kitchen felt brighter. The linoleum didn't seem so old and faded now. The yellow walls weren't such a sickly colour. The stained glass panels in the windows looked more vibrant. He put it down to his good mood and the warm sunshine outside.

Of course last night's dishes were done, the pots and pans cleared away by some unseen hand. Eddie was just too oblivious to see it.

"See ya later, darlin'," he called out once more as he left through the door.

If he had been paying attention though, he might have caught the reply.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eddie moves into a new house and starts having sex dreams about tentacles, but doesn't know he's actually not dreaming.
> 
> Kudos is great but comments make my day! :D


	2. The Transformation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check notes at the end for more info/spoiler on dubcon element.
> 
> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta.

Eddie managed to get home while it was still light out. He picked up the power tools after work and left them in the back garden ready for tomorrow.

"Honey, I'm home!"

He laughed at his own joke as he walked through the door, carrying a stack of magazines into the sitting room. Early evening light streamed through the bay window, soaking everything in a golden glow and catching the stained glass. It stopped Eddie in his tracks.

"Well, don't we look pretty tonight?"

He went to the couch and spread the magazines out on the coffee table. They were all about architecture and interior design.

"Look what I got you. Thought we might get some ideas on how to make you more beautiful."

He glanced up the chimney breast. The way the light fell through the windows against the rough brick almost made it look like there was the shadow of a smile there.

Eddie stayed for a while, flipping through the magazines and turning down the corners of any pages that caught his eye. Some of them were way beyond his means, but it was nice to dream. Also, it wasn't his imagination; the couch was definitely getting comfortable now. He reasoned it away as it just hadn't been sat on for a long time. He figured he wouldn't have to replace it after all. It was one less thing to do at least.

Dinner was pasta and a jar of sauce. He had the radio on again as he made it, and it struck Eddie that every time now the music had played uninterrupted. There weren't any ad breaks or a DJ chatting away. The tracks just rolled together like the perfect playlist. He made a mental note to look up more information about the station later, then of course, completely forgot to do so.

As he brushed his teeth that night, Eddie wondered if he was going to dream again. He really hoped he would. As maddening as it was to never get to finish, it was all so undeniably hot. Throughout the day his mind had often drifted back to that black mass and its agile tentacles. He shivered just thinking about it now.

He spat out his toothpaste and glanced over to the shower. Strangely, the tub didn't look as dirty anymore, and the water stain on the ceiling seemed smaller. Another trick of the light... right?

Eddie flopped face down onto the bed. Tonight he didn't bother with a t-shirt. He had briefly considered going totally nude, but dismissed the idea as silly. They were dreams. It didn't matter what you wore in real life. But even so, he figured going topless couldn't hurt.

He dug his hands under his pillow and let sleep take him.

He was first aware of the touches along his back. Hesitant at first, but growing in confidence, they caressed and stroked every contour of his skin. He sighed with happiness. If this was all it was going to be tonight, he didn't mind. It had been a while since anyone had given him this much physical attention.

Some of the touches moved up his back and into his hair. They made lazy figure eights against his scalp and tickled the outside of his ear. The ones still around his spine became stronger now, practically kneading. Another wonderful massage. They seemed to get impossibly deep into his muscles, just melting any tension he had. Eddie gave a blissful groan.

A tendril, about the width of a finger, came into view as it broke away from the others and carefully glided along his cheekbone. Without thinking, Eddie grabbed it and pulled it towards his mouth, and gently sucked on the tip. The whole thing shivered, and he smiled.

"Like that, huh?"

It caressed his lips and softly prodded at the parting, wanting more. So he obliged, this time taking more of it in and sucking harder. It was warm in his mouth, and he rolled it over his tongue as it licked against his teeth, exploring this new part of him.

It took Eddie a moment to realise that his back massage had stopped and he was in fact being lifted up by his hips. He ended up on his knees, his face still on the pillows. He glanced back as a flurry of tendrils worked his shorts down and off, exposing his ass to the air. Then one of the large tentacles rose up from the mattress and Eddie's eyes widened. He shot up onto his hands and pulled the tendril from his mouth.

"Hey, um, guys?" He gulped. It had been a long time since anyone had been back there, and he wasn't sure he was ready for this, even in a dream. "Could we maybe just-"

His words were cut off as the tentacle reared up and landed at the base of his spine. This one felt wet and slathered its secretions across his skin. It was cool and hot at the same time and made him shudder. The tentacle then curved in on itself and slowly starting making its way between his cheeks.

Eddie readied himself for the sensation. He was sure that his subconscious wouldn’t ignore the burn that came first, he had too much sense memory of it. He tried to relax, the prodding of the tendril against his mouth a welcome distraction, but as the tentacle neared his entrance he couldn't help tensing up.

However, it just kept on going. It slithered past his hole but stayed close to the skin, gently pushing his legs apart with its width. He couldn't help but let out a relieved breath, but that quickly became a sharp inhale as it reached his sack.

He ducked his head under to see what was going on. As the tentacle travelled across his perineum, the tip became blunt and opened up to ooze around his balls. It completely enveloped them within its dark mass, making Eddie groan loud and long. It was fondling him, sucking and squeezing all at once, its secretions making his thighs slick. Its girth still held his cheeks apart, but some of the motions were travelling back along it to tease his hole. It was incredible.

The gelatinous fluid continued onwards and engulfed his rapidly hardening cock. Eddie cried out and his arms gave way, flopping his head back onto the pillow. The tendril still wanted entry into his mouth and he let it, grateful for something to suck on and moan around. It was like that first night with the pressure and the undulating movement, but now there was also a slickness to it all, and it was driving him wild.

_"Please,"_ he begged in his mind, _"please let me cum this time. Please, please, please!"_

His body was being touched again. Dozens of feelers roamed across his skin, tweaking his nipples and squeezing his ass. Eddie was thrusting; he couldn't stop himself. The tentacle still between his legs offered something utterly delicious to press against. Every drive pulled the cocoon a little closer, the compression against his flared head just a little stronger.

He wasn't far now, his thoughts just a constant stream of _please please please please please please please…_

The heat in his gut was boiling over, the dam was about to break.

_"Don't wake up, don't wake up, don't wake up..."_

Eddie’s orgasm was blissful. He screamed into the pillow as his whole body lit up. Streams and streams of hot cum shot into that wonderful tight wetness, milking him for every last drop. It was better than anything Eddie had ever known, ever would know. His legs went limp; the only thing keeping his hips in the air was the tentacle running between his cheeks.

It lowered him gently to the bed and guided his knees away so he could lie flat, but it didn't let go of his cock and balls. It just stayed there, warm and wet and comforting as he went soft. There were caresses, but they were slow now, further apart. The tendril exited his mouth and brushed against his lips. A kiss maybe? Eddie was too far gone to think, to care. He let himself drift away, his mind still swimming in euphoria.

"Best. Orgasm. Ever." he mumbled. And then he was unconscious.

 

Eddie woke up slowly, the taste of something sweet lingering on his tongue. His hearing came back to him second, the birds twittering outside his window, the gentle thrum of suburban life going on unaided. Touch was last. His head was floating on a cloud of a pillow, the mattress firm in all the right places, the blankets at just the right temperature. He tried to snuggle back under them hoping that sleep would take over again, but then the memories of the dream came tumbling back.

His eyes shot open and he flung off the covers. His shorts were just where he put them on the night before, his body not even feeling slightly sticky. He peered under the waistband but there wasn't any evidence of his glorious wet dream. There should have been though, right? He knew he came, it was undeniable that he had, but he was as clean as a whistle.

Eddie shook his head. Another mystery to be solved. He got out of bed and quickly tugged on some sweatpants and a tank top that were draped over the back of the chair. Had he put those there? He must have. It was then that a sense tickled at the back of his mind that something was off.

Eddie spun round, his eyes going wide. Since when did he have a four poster bed!?

The elegant iron work now extended up towards the ceiling and formed a canopy of intricate design.

"Um...."

He touched it, trying to make sure that it was real. It felt real enough. But this was impossible. He'd never forget a thing like this.

The sense tickled again. The carpet felt luxuriously soft under his bare feet, his toes able to dig deep into the pile. He started noticing other things around the room too. The walls were now a calming turquoise colour, the drapes were sharp and simple, the wardrobe and dresser were polished, even the moulding looked repaired.

"...um!"

Was all Eddie could think to say, his shock rising.

He dashed through the door to the landing. Everything looked fresh and revived like it had been that way for years. He peeked into the bathroom to find it sparkling clean, not a trace of scum or mold. Even the water stain had completely vanished.

He thundered down the stairs to discover more changes. The rooms were airy and bright, the fixtures and fittings gleaming and graceful. Nothing needed painting, nothing needed fixing, and everything was done how he had imagined it could be.

Confusion drove him through the front door and onto the steps. Even the outside looked newly painted in that same gray and black colour scheme. Only the unsightly lawn gave any hints to its previous condition.

Eddie didn't know what to think; it was all too unreal. He anxiously squeezed the back of his neck.

"Good morning," a friendly female voice called.

Eddie turned to find a middle-aged woman with dark red hair who was wearing exercise clothing. She carried weights, and a bottle of water was strapped to her arm.

"You must be the new neighbour. I'm Claire. We live at number 172." She pointed up the road.

"Oh, er, yeah. Hi." Eddie was still too shaken to make a proper introduction. He was, after all, barefoot and barely dressed.

"I see you've already started sprucing the place up. Used to be such an eyesore. Didn't even see when the painters came. Odd that you chose to stay with that colour scheme but I guess it suits it. Will you be getting round to mowing the lawn soon, do you think?"

His mind was still playing catch-up, but he didn't like her condescending undertone and seemingly busybody nature.

"Um, yeah. As soon as I can." He needed this conversation to be over. He was already looking back at the house letting the silence stretch between them. Claire must've thought he was high or something.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. Have a pleasant Sunday."

"Yeah- wait! You mean Saturday?"

"No, Sunday. Says so on my calendar." She was trying to play off the awkward encounter with a funny voice. It wasn't working.

"But that's not possible." He came down the steps towards her and she leaned away from his approach. "Yesterday was Friday....right?" He was starting to doubt everything he knew. Things were changing around him without his knowledge, and not to mention those dreams. God! Nothing was making much sense anymore.

"Are you okay? I know a good doctor."

Claire's offer hung in the air until Eddie finally understood what she was suggesting. He was making a terrible first impression to the neighbourhood gossip and would surely get a horrible reputation because of it.

"Um no, sorry, I'm fine. Just, er-... too many paint fumes." It was an easy lie to spin.

Claire's whole demeanour changed. She offered a knowing smile. "Got to crack open those windows, eh?" She winked at him. What the hell was she implying now?

"Yeah, yeah. Gotta do that," he said with a forced grin.

"Well, I'll be seeing you!" she added brightly and power-walked off down the road.

Sunday. It was Sunday. Somehow he'd missed an entire _day_!?

This was too much.

With some trepidation, Eddie went back into the house. He closed the door with a gulp and padded to the living room. It was such a dramatic change, but also completely subtle. It was as though everything in the house had just come back to life. It felt original but new, old but contemporary. It highlighted all of its best features in the way that an interior decorator would.

Which might've explained why on the coffee table there was a neat pile of pages torn from the magazines. Each one was dog-eared from where Eddie had marked it and together it was like some strange mood board that the house had made flesh.

More disconcertingly, all of his stuff had been unpacked and placed about the room. His records and blu-rays, his books and his photos - and everything was where he had been planning to put it. The empty boxes were even neatly stacked to one side.

Numbly, he went to the kitchen and found his phone waiting for him on the table. It confirmed that it was indeed Sunday. Eddie's mind was doing cartwheels. How was this even possible? Did he bang his head without knowing? Did he refurbish the entire house then forget he'd done it? Was he just mistaken about the day and yesterday was actually Saturday? It all felt highly unlikely.

He put his head into his hands and groaned. Surely he was losing his grip on reality? Or maybe he was still asleep? Yeah, that could work. His dreams had felt so real lately that it was hard to know where they ended and waking life began. But there weren't any tentacles now. Nothing truly out of the ordinary was happening. There wasn't anything screaming at him that this was all a product of his imagination. He let out a long breath.

"Okay Eddie, this is all fucking bizarre, but you can't just sit here."

He hoped hearing his own voice out loud would help to somehow kick-start his brain into figuring out a solution.

Instead, the kitchen cabinets rattled, and he saw his favourite mug on the counter again. He didn't remember washing it up and putting it there, but really his powers of recall weren't to be trusted right now.

"Breakfast. Yeah, breakfast is good. Do that. Then you can get dressed, and go out into the garden. Yeah, that's manageable."

Three things. He could do these three things. They were completely within his control. So he did.

He retrieved the bottle of pancake mix from the fridge and found his pan put away in one of the cupboards. He had planned on having pancakes on Saturday, but he figured they were Sunday pancakes now. There was even a bottle of chocolate syrup for him to use. At some point the radio was turned on. Eddie wasn't sure if he had been the one to do it.

He ate at the dining room table noticing more changes. His notebooks and ornaments had been arranged on the shelves. They looked minimalist by design instead of sparse by default. He was fairly sure the whole place could be photographed for 'Better Homes and Gardens' and not look out of place. Well, the home part anyway.

Returning to the bedroom, he realised that he had somehow missed the fact that all of his clothes were neatly stored away in the wardrobe and dresser. Upon opening the drawer he was greeted by the wonderful smell of fresh laundry. There was no way this was his doing. He would never have been so organised about it, plus he didn't even know how to properly fold a shirt.

"Did you do all this?" he said to the room. He wasn't expecting a reply and didn't get one, but it was the only explanation he could come up with. Somehow it seemed more plausible than someone breaking in, drugging him to sleep and unpacking all of his stuff for him.

He picked out an old t-shirt and jeans to do his yard work in, careful not to disturb the other items, and headed back downstairs.

As Eddie filled up a huge bottle of water from the tap, he purposefully didn't look at the breakfast things that were now completely clean on the drying rack. Nope, he wasn't going to acknowledge that that had happened. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could convince himself that he had done it?

He donned his protective gloves and ear defenders that came with the tool rental and set about clearing the garden. Sophie, the real estate agent, had suggested just ripping it all out and starting fresh, but somewhere under all that jungle was a lawn and shrubs that were worth keeping. So Eddie went carefully about with the hedge trimmer and mower, only occasionally breaking out the hand saw.

It was good, tiring work. It kept his mind on the present and his hands occupied. He only stopped now and then to quench his thirst, and after a few hours of effort it was all looking much better.

Satisfied, and drenched in sweat, Eddie went in to refill his bottle. Cutting stuff down was one thing, clearing it all up was another. He had only just finished screwing the cap back on when the back door slammed shut.

"Hey!"

He put his bottle on the table and tried to open the door, but it wasn't budging.

"Come on now, I'm nearly done!"

But the more he pulled, the more it resisted.

"What's gotten into you?"

He was actually talking to the house now. That was a thing he did.

He let go in frustration, thinking he could probably go around the side gate from the front, but then the rattling started. It began with the doorknob but quickly went to the cabinets and all the cupboards through the house.

Eddie jumped back in horror as a foul corruption started expanding from the handle. It bubbled the paint, warped the wood and covered everything in festering black mold.

"What the hell!?"

It quickly ran to the walls and the ceiling, covering every item it encountered. It was also rapidly encroaching along the floor towards Eddie's feet.

"Hey! Cut it out!" he yelled as he backed away. But it just kept on coming towards him. "Stop it!"

It started creeping faster and soon he was running to the front door. He yanked on the handle but it was locked too.

"Mother fucker!"

He could only turn and watch as the corruption surged towards him. Instinctively, his arms went up to cover his face, and he waited for the impact.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eddie still believes that all of the tentacle sex is in his dreams, so he allows it to happen.
> 
> **WARNING! The next chapter is going to get dark. _Please_ read the notes at the start.**
> 
> Kudos is great but comments make my day! :D


	3. The Disagreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can't have a haunted house without just a bit of horror...
> 
> **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS NON-CON.**
> 
> MAKE SURE TO READ THE NOTES AT THE END FOR MORE INFO.
> 
> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta.

But in the end the corruption didn't touch him.

Slowly, Eddie opened his eyes to survey the damage. The house looked like it had aged 50 years in 50 seconds. Everything once nice and pretty was twisted and ugly. It groaned as though it had been neglected and abandoned for decades. 

He swallowed thickly. This would be a  _ really _ great time to wake up, but it wasn't happening.

"Well, fuck this."

Eddie grabbed the door handle and searing pain shot through his palm. He screamed and staggered back, cradling his right hand. The delicate flesh was badly burned and already blistering. He lurched towards the kitchen, desperate to run water over his injury, but the taps ran empty. He screamed again, this time in frustration, and opened the freezer instead. It wasn't cold. Everything inside had defrosted long ago.

The fridge was his next stop. Eddie gagged upon opening the door. The putrid smell of decay assaulted his nose, the contents having rotted down to sludge. He slammed it shut again and dry heaved into the sink.

Why was the house doing this to him? What had he done? His eyes were brimming with tears from the pain, but he had to focus. Small steps. What could he use instead? He had a moment of inspiration - his water bottle. He had just filled it up and it was still there on the table. 

Like everything else, it was covered in mold. A thick layer of sludge hung inside at the surface but it would have to do. He would worry about infection later. He just about got the cap off with his left hand and clumsily poured the contents over the burn. He hissed through his teeth. The water brought some relief, but it was quickly all gone down the drain. 

He needed a bandage. He hoped there was a first aid kit under the sink and was relieved to find one. It looked old, but wasn't covered in slime, so that was a bonus. His bandaging was messy. His hands trembled, every loop he made was pure agony against his skin. Tears streamed down his face and he took deep shuddering breaths to try to get through the pain of it. He could barely make a fist by the end of it.

He needed to find a way out. Get to a hospital. He needed to make contact with the outside world, maybe call for a rescue from his demented house. He searched for his phone but his spirits sank further when he found it cracked and dead. His laptop had suffered the same fate too. Nothing had been spared.

"I swear to god if you've fucked up my laptop I will  BURN YOU TO THE GROUND !"

His anger was taking over from the pain. He swiftly picked up a chair from the dining table, marched through the sitting room and swung it at the bay window. It did nothing. The muck covered glass simply absorbed the impact like rubber, bouncing the chair right off. Eddie stumbled as his momentum was turned back on him, and he fell to his knees.

His outburst had been squashed. All lines of communication had been cut. The only things left were pain and fear. He held his injured hand close to his chest and broke down sobbing. Everything had gone wrong. His dream home had become a nightmare at the click of a finger. 

"Why are you doing this?" he whimpered, his voice cracking with emotion. "I don't understand."

He curled up as best he could, hugging his knees with his good arm. He was going to die here. If not from starvation, then from infection. The human body can go three days without water, and he was already parched. No one would know where he had gone. They'd see the house and assume it was abandoned. The doors would be locked; no one would try to get in. He was going to die here on this horrible moldy carpet and just rot away. They'd only find him when the money ran out and the bank came for mortgage payments. And no one would know what happened. Would there even be anyone to mourn his passing? He could see his obituary now. It was tiny and inconsequential. Maybe he'd get a footnote one day for his mysterious death.

But he didn't  _ want _ to die here on this moldy carpet. He had to do something, if nothing else to distract him from the unrelenting pain in his hand. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad upstairs? Maybe he could open a window and call for help? He was clutching at straws now, his mind making a desperate attempt at hope, but it was enough of an incentive to get him to his feet and at least try.

Eddie looked nervously at the stairs. They appeared rotten, like they wouldn't take his weight. He tentatively tried the first step. The wood groaned but didn't give. He tried the next one. Same result. With an anxious breath he steadily climbed the rest.

The corruption was up here too. It was dark and uninviting, the early evening sun making no impact whatsoever. Eddie went into the master bedroom and tried to see through the windows, but it was nearly impossible. The filth was too thick and hard to even rub through. The latches wouldn't give either. They were frozen solid in the locked position, and he hurt his good fingers trying to lift them. By now, he was starting to shiver as well, his sweat soaked clothes rapidly cooling against his skin, the adrenaline draining from his system.

He peered into the bathroom and quickly recoiled. It was like a nightmare, the worst gas station stink hole you could imagine. He didn't even bother to try the taps. He didn't even want to touch them.

The door to his room was closed. Eddie figured he might as well see what the damage was like in here too. He experimentally touched the handle, but it wasn't warm. He opened it slowly, bracing for the worst. The mold was here too, so heavy in places it had torn down the wallpaper. The dresser and wardrobe were festering, the carpet actually squished underfoot.

But in the middle of all this stood the bed, and Eddie could have wept with joy. It sat in a completely untouched circle, its sheets still clean, the floor around it untarnished by a single speck of slime. He rushed towards it, overcome by the desire to just be somewhere vaguely hygienic.

He kicked off his boots as soon as he was able and carefully lay down on the covers, cradling his right arm. He squeezed his eyes shut, just willing everything to go away, his mental exhaustion taking over. But if his mind hadn't been so addled with fear and pain, he might've seen the bed for what it really was ... a trap.

 

Eddie was lying on his back. He was being moved. No, he was being  _ pulled _ . And in opposite directions. He whipped his head around wildly finding thick, strong tentacles coiled around his arms and legs and distinctly trying to rip him apart. He screamed, his joints and muscles crying out in agony.

"Stop! STOP! Please!"

A pressure roped around his neck and cut off his air supply. Eddie thrashed against his bonds, but they only got tighter. He had to wake up, he had to make the dream end. It really felt like he was being strangled; he was already seeing stars. Another tentacle joined in and began constricting around his chest too.

"Stop,  _ stop-.."  _ his breathless words barely made it out of his mouth. His world was starting to go dark.

And then white-hot pain shot through his mind as weight was put upon his burn.

The tentacles suddenly retreated as though he was made of fire, and Eddie scrambled off the bed. He staggered towards the door, coughing and desperately trying to replenish his aching lungs, but a high-pitched wail made him turn. What he saw made his mind reel in horror.

The bed frame was covered in oozing black tentacles. These weren't like the ones in the dreams, all smooth and rippling, these were ugly and deformed. They dripped slime and twitched in a way that just felt wrong. And they were all coming through some sort of portal in the ceiling over the bed. Had these things really been fucking him in his sleep? God, had he even  _ been _ asleep?

Eddie gagged. His house wasn't haunted. It was possessed.

He flew from the room and out onto the landing. His whole body ached, and it was hard to see. Night had fallen fast and barely any of the streetlight was making it through the windows. He only had one option - go up to the attic. He hadn't been up there yet. Maybe there was something that could explain all this madness. Some sort of doll, cursed diary, or whatever it was in horror films that caused these kinds of things.

He looked around for the attic trapdoor. He had to jump a few times to catch the toggle and make the ladder descend. Looking up, he saw nothing but darkness. He desperately wished he had a torch right now, but the longer he looked, the more his eyes began to adjust. There was light up there. It was blue and very faint, and it was reflecting off of something black in the rafters. Something that was moving.

Obviously, he didn't have to go up there. He could stay right where he was, even go downstairs and ignore the whole thing, but that wasn't going to achieve anything. Steeling his nerves, he climbed the ladder as best he could with one good hand. He eased his head through the hole, wary of anything that might attack him.

The light was emanating from the floor behind him. He twisted round to see that it looked as though it had been piled over with boxes. From what Eddie could tell, there wasn't anything else in the attic at all. There was a light switch nearby though. He tried it; it didn't work.

Letting out a long breath, he climbed fully into the space. He approached the boxes and was intimately aware of how the black ooze in the ceiling moved with him, retreating into the far corner as he got closer. He really wished he still had his boots on. 

The light appeared to be part of some strange pattern in the wood. With a wary toe, he moved a box aside revealing more markings. He removed another box and the design continued. It looked like part of a circle. With a heavy swallow, he pulled all the boxes out of the way and uncovered the full picture. The attic was bathed in an ethereal blue glow.

Eddie hadn't seen much occult stuff in his life, mostly things on TV and in films, but this definitely looked serious. He did some mental calculations and his heart sunk. The circle was right above the bed. His beautiful bed that was currently covered in a slime monster.

Suddenly, those same tentacles burst through the floor. Eddie yelled and fell backwards, landing badly on his injured hand, causing tears to spring to his eyes and a sharp intake of breath. He had mere moments to scramble away as the tentacles whipped towards him in an angry manner, that horrible high-pitched wail reverberating in the space. 

"What?!" he shouted, "what do you want!? You wanna kill me, is that it!?"

The tentacles bristled and seethed, not keeping still for a moment. But it didn't seem like they could reach him. They crowded the edge of the circle, their length spreading out into the room, but still a good distance from where he was lying. They looked damaged and swollen in the light, and some part of Eddie felt a tiny pang of sympathy.

"What happened, man? I thought things were good. Or at least, I was starting to accept that they were good. Look what you did to my hand!" 

He shoved his bandaged arm forward. They almost seemed to recoil from it.

"Do you have any idea how much this hurts? Fuck! It's probably never going to be right again." He felt more tears coming. "Why the fuck are you doing all this?"

The tentacles all disappeared back into the floor. 

Eddie looked around in confusion. Abruptly, something long and green was thrown in his direction landing by his feet. He carefully scooted forward to pick it up and inspect it. It was a branch that had been savagely cut by the hedge trimmer.

"What the-?" his mind tried to connect the dots. "The garden? You're pissed because I cut back the garden? Is that all? All this shit because I removed a few weeds and branches? All this fucking mess because I cut a few plants?!"

The tentacles weren't reappearing.

"No! You don't get to throw temper tantrums! You don't get to hurt me like this! You come back here now and- !"

He was cut off as a tentacle darted out and coiled around his ankle. They had made him move closer, made him come within their range. He was screwed. 

"Fuck!"

It started dragging him across the floor.

"No, no!"

He desperately tried to grab onto anything, but there was nothing to grab. His puny nails useless against the strength of the creature.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry about the garden! I didn't know, I didn't know!"

It dragged his leg into the circle, then vanished. For a moment, Eddie just breathed, wondering if it was over, but then black ooze began to bubble up and encased his foot.

"Ah, no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please!"

The ooze quickly spread up his leg and Eddie found himself being hoisted up into a standing position, the other foot coming down hard. It got the same treatment and no amount of struggling was making a difference. He was completely stuck. His feet might have well been covered in concrete. He was quickly starting to panic.

"No, no. I'm sorry. Please!" he begged.

The ooze reached the top of his thighs and split off into smaller tendrils. They rapidly crisscrossed in a loose lattice across his abdomen, then without warning, shot up his neck and into the skin behind his ears.

Eddie's head was thrown back, his whole body tensed and his vision clouded with black. Something was being done to his brain. He could  _ feel _ it. His arms twitched uselessly by his sides, his eyes fluttering uncontrollably. He was being changed. He was being altered in some way, and it scared him to death.

Suddenly, the tendrils retracted, and he found himself falling. He was actually falling  _ through _ the floor like it was make of quicksand. He landed with a thump back on the bed, and had only a moment to comprehend that he was naked before the angry looking tentacles coiled around his arms and legs again. They actually lifted him off the mattress this time, with further supports under his shoulders, back and hips to keep him in the air.

"No! Please! Don't kill me! Don't tear-.." 

The rest of his words were muffled by a gag that stretched across his mouth. He raged against it and strained against his restraints, but could only watch as a fifth tentacle reared up between his legs. It nearly distracted him from the tickling at the base of his skull as something went through his skin and into his brain again.

His whole body doubled over as his dick grew instantly hard. Eddie cried out. It actually hurt; it had happened that quickly. His mind couldn't understand what was going on.

The fifth tentacle smoothed along his erection and lingered at the tip. It stroked it a few times before curling around the head and pulling it towards them, swallowing it whole into its mass. Eddie's head went back. He didn't ask for this, didn't want this, but fuck that felt so good. 

Then the sucking started and Eddie lost it. It was a near constant vacuum that engorged his member even further and made him extra sensitive. His orgasm was building fast and there was no reason to hold out. Maybe once he'd come they'd let him go? So he leaned into it and didn't try to stop it. He wasn't actually sure he could have if he wanted to.

The first orgasm rocked through him, and he could feel all his cum being sucked away, but it didn't stop. He was already panting, the strain of what was happening sapping away his energy, but the tentacle didn't let him go. None of them did. The panic in his chest doubled. Something else was wrong too. He wasn't going soft, he didn't feel spent or over sensitive. If anything, he felt another orgasm building. 

"No, no..." he whimpered against the gag.

The second was slightly slower to arrive but hit all the same. He swayed against his bindings, his head swimming in pleasure chemicals, but it felt all wrong. It wasn't fun or as pleasurable. The forced orgasms felt tainted. The third one was already incoming. He was sure he'd soon be shooting nothing but air if it continued, but continue it did.

Eddie understood what this was now. It was punishment for the garden. It was a weird and unusual punishment, and the methods didn't make sense, but it wasn't like the previous nights. Everything was happening too fast, his body and mind had been altered to make it possible. He wondered if his hand hadn't been hurt if it would have ripped him apart or choked him to death first.

By the fourth one he was crying. He felt he'd had as many orgasms in as many minutes. There was nothing left for him to give. His balls were empty. And that's when the tentacle engulfed them too.

A new sensation took over from the sucking. He didn't know how he knew, but somehow it was under his skin, filling his testicles back up. Eddie hissed around the gag as he felt them swell. His sack was huge and heavy and tight, the tension becoming painful very quickly. He needed to cum right now to relieve the pressure, and the tentacle supplied.

That was number five. His muscles ached from straining, his mouth was parched from screaming and his stomach cramped with hunger. This fucking wasn't going to stop any time soon. This was how he going to die, he was sure of it. Death by orgasm. Not a bad way to go really, but he didn't want to go at all. What would they find of him now? Instead of curled up on the carpet, he'll be spreadeagled and naked on the bed. It seemed much worse.

He started to let himself drift away. He had given up on fighting back. Number six went by with an intense shudder; he was too far gone to react any more than that. He closed his eyes and just let them take him. But instead he found the gag being withdrawn. He took in a grateful swallow, his head lolling about now it wasn't restrained. He was done begging, he was done crying. He just wanted it to be over.

A tendril butted at his mouth, but he wouldn't let it in. 

"No...no...go away..." he responded weakly.

He grunted as number seven passed through. But the tendril would not be denied. It placed a drop of liquid on his dry lips and waited for a response. Eddie didn't want to give them one, but he craved the moisture. He curled his lips inwards and a tiny spark of flavour hit his tongue. It was sweet and vaguely familiar, like he'd tasted it before.

The tendril tried again, and this time he let it in. It flooded his mouth with the liquid and he closed his eyes, greedily gulping it down. It quenched his thirst and filled his empty stomach. He needed more. He started sucking as number eight came and went with a shiver. He needed bigger. He needed to hold it while he fed. His arms were released and the tendril engorged itself stretching his mouth nicely. He lost himself in the motion, only coming back to earth when he tried to close his injured hand around the new appendage. 

He bared his teeth and all of the tentacles momentarily tightened around him, seemingly feeling his pain. Eddie just let his arm hang loosely in the air, intending to forget about it. It was useless right now, but that's when yet another new sensation took over. Extreme pins and needles travelled down from his shoulder and into his palm. This was followed by an intense warmth and suddenly all the pain was gone.

Eddie opened his eyes and brought his hand up to his face. He flexed it a few times, but it felt healed. The tips of his fingers were no longer red. It felt as good as new. Without hesitation he used it to solidly hold onto his new food source. Maybe he wasn't going to die after all. 

His dick had gone numb now, there wasn't any sensation left, but somehow number nine was building to a crest. It rushed by and Eddie had to stop drinking. Now he really was starting to feel spent.

"Please," he said softly, "please no more. I can't- I can't go again."

But the tentacles had other ideas. He jerked as he suddenly felt something inside of him. He clenched his entrance, but found no intruder there. However, something was most definitely stroking his prostate.

"Oh god. Oh no."

His balls were being filled again. The tickling in the back of his brain intensified. He needed something to hold, something to grip. His fingers grasped around two willing tentacles as the prostate massage quickened and became firmer. More tendrils appeared, offering encouraging motions down his chest and legs. The heat in his gut was burning. He was going to cum and it was going to be big.

He cried out and his mind was lost to pleasure. His back arched high, his body finding enough energy to pull every muscle taut. After the first three shots Eddie thought he must be done, but they intended to empty the entire reservoir they had filled specially for him. It was finally too much. The constant pumping of fluid was beginning to burn. He grimaced, his abdomen aching from the repetition. Pleasure was turning to pain, and it wasn't stopping. He gasped a few last breaths then his brain short-circuited. He was out like a light.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eddie displeases the house by cutting down the garden. It punishes him by altering his body and forcing him to have many orgasms without his consent. 
> 
> Kudos is great, but comments make my day! :D


	4. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta, and to duckmoles for the help with the formatting.

Eddie woke curled up on the bed. He lay there for a while letting his senses catch up with everything that had happened. He was still naked but the covers had been pulled over. He didn't feel sore or bruised, and looking up, there were no tentacles coming from the ceiling. The four poster bed frame was still there though.

He turned his attention to his right hand and moved the fingers. They seemed fine. He fumbled with the bandage and found his palm to be completely unmarked. He ran his other thumb across it. It felt normal. Everything felt normal.

He took in a long breath. He knew he shouldn’t be this calm about what happened. He should be running for the hills, he should be setting the house ablaze, or calling in an exorcist. He should, at the very least, be getting away from the bed, but there was just  _ something _ that told him it wasn’t necessary. Not a single fiber of his being ached. 

Eddie wiped the sleep from the eyes and looked around the room. The mold and slime were gone. It had returned to the partially restored state it had yesterday. No wait, that wasn't right. Friday. This was how it looked on Friday. Which meant that today was Monday.

"Shit!"

He was late for work.

The clothes in the dresser were thankfully not ruined, though the fresh laundry smell had gone. Edging out onto the landing, he could see the front windows were once again clean enough to let in the light, and the bathroom was no longer a foul hell hole. He gave his teeth a quick brush, the taps once again working properly.

Downstairs was the same. Nothing seemed out of place. He tentatively opened the fridge, but it was fine. Totally empty, but working and not filled with putrid sludge. 

"And now I have to buy groceries again." He shut the door with a huff.

It was starting to look like yesterday hadn't happened at all. Eddie felt as though his mind was beginning to unravel - that is, if it hadn't already. Only the garden provided any evidence. It had regrown overnight. Not to the tangled jungle it was before, but to a state that suggested 'well maintained'. All of the damage had been undone.

The same could not be said for his phone. 

"Fuck. I really liked that phone."

The screen was cracked and warped, the back blistered like it had been in a fire. Eddie hoped that he might at least be able to save the sim and a few photos on the hard drive. He'd have to take it to a shop and pray that they didn't ask too many questions. Mercifully, his laptop booted up on the first try. 

"Oh thank fuck."

It was ultimately useless though. He couldn't call anyone, couldn't email either. He wasn't even sure he could make it out of the front door yet. And what would he do if he could? Just leave and never come back? He had too much money sunk into this place to just up and abandon it. But there was also a tentacle monster in the attic that liked to punish him with orgasms. 

He looked up, wondering if he went to the attic now, if it would still be there. He cock gave a gentle throb at the thought. He glanced down to his crotch.

"Traitor."

It hadn't been all bad really. The first three nights were positively blissful, and Eddie should have appreciated it more when the house had made itself beautiful. He wondered if it was going to do it again. He secretly hoped that it would. He'd never lived anywhere near as nice before.

The kitchen cabinets rattled, and he found his mug waiting for him on the counter. Was this a peace offering maybe?

He contemplated what life would be like if he stayed. Would it treat him nice and behave, or would it fuck him senseless every time he did something wrong? Would it break down and rot if he upset it and eventually chase him away like all the other owners? 

He needed to understand more. Needed to know what he was dealing with and, worse case scenario, how to get rid of it if possible. This would mean going back to the attic though. The circle in the floorboards probably meant something and without a camera available, he would have to sketch it. 

He fetched a notebook and pen from the dining room and rallied his courage.

The attic was quiet. Thin strips of daylight filtered across the floor from the small window situated in the eaves. Eddie tried the light and this time it worked. Everything was where he'd left it. The circle was no longer glowing, but as Eddie got closer he could see the design was scorched into the wood. Actually, scratch that, it was  _ carved _ into the wood. How much more permanent could you get? He tried not to get too close just in case the tentacles made another surprise appearance, but he had to lean in to accurately capture the symbols around the edges. And boy there were a lot of them. Thankfully, his drawing was left undisturbed. 

Satisfied with his effort, Eddie left the attic and made for the front door. He had already decided he was going to skip work and just apologise tomorrow. If he went in now he'd only spend all day wondering about what was waiting for him when he got back. Better to be  proactive.

He stopped when he reached the door though. Gingerly he prodded the door knob. It was perfectly cool to the touch. He breathed a sigh of relief and opened it only to have it slam shut on him.

"Hey!"

He opened it again, but once more it closed. A tug of war ensued and neither side was winning.

"You're. Making. Us. Look. Weird!" 

The door stopped struggling and Eddie felt a thrill of victory, but as he went to move past it, it started closing on him again.

"What's the issue now?" 

He wasn't sure why he was expecting a reply. Throughout his time in the house the only voice he'd ever heard was his own. But a reply did come. A burst of static issued from the kitchen radio followed by the warble of the dial spooling through stations. Two distinct words floated down the passageway:

"Don't....leave."

It was such a simple statement, and yet to Eddie it felt like a punch to the gut. After everything that had happened, the house was worried that he was going to go and not come back. Of course, if it really wanted to trap him, it would have just locked the doors again, but instead it was asking him to stay. The reverberation of ceramic settling on wood made his eyes flick to the stairs. His mug was on the bottom step. It really was a peace offering so he picked it up.

He knew that really, he should be terrified. Yesterday he was 100% fearing for his life and fairly convinced he was going to die multiple times. But this morning, when everything seemed so quiet and calm, and  _ mostly _ normal, it was hard to get scared. He felt strangely taken care of - which was the most ridiculous thought to have about a house and its resident monster. But all the same, part of him conceded it was nice to feel wanted.

"I'm coming back you know," he called up the stairs. "I just need to go out for a while. You did destroy all of my food."

The coat stand bristled. 

"Okay, okay, not entirely your fault, but I am coming back. I promise."

The house seemed to need a moment to think about it. The front door opened on its own and Eddie smiled. He put the mug back on the stairs.

"See ya later," he quietly added .

Another burst of static.

"Dar-....-ling-."

"Yeah sure. See ya later darling."

 

It felt odd to be out in the fresh air after everything that had happened. And yet somehow Claire had timed her arrival perfectly. Today it was jeans and a blouse. Clearly it was too late for morning runs.

"Hello again neighbour!" she called.

"Oh yeah, hi, um, Claire." 

He didn't have time to stop and chat to so went directly towards his bike.

"See you managed to get that grass cut after all."

He glanced back. The lawn did look better, but it definitely wasn't his doing.

"Um, yeah. Guess I did."

He straddled the bike and put the key in the ignition.

"Anyway, now that I have you, I was wondering if you'd like to join our little homeowners association?" She thrust a flier in his direction. "We get together about once a month over some nice wine and a bit of cheese and discuss what's going on in the community. You know, yard sales, planning applications and such. All very informal, but a great way to get to know people on the street." She smiled up at him, her teeth were far too perfect.

Of course it was code for 'we get together, get drunk, and bitch about the neighbours who aren't there'. Eddie didn't need that in his life. He took the flier just to end the conversation.

"Thanks Claire. I'll, er, I'll think about it."

He then purposefully revved up the engine to cover her reply.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked. She started to speak again so he put on his helmet. "Sorry, can't hear you. Bye Claire!" 

He sped off the drive, grinning to himself. Who cares about bad impressions when you live in a haunted house?

 

His first stop was the phone shop.

"What the  _ hell _ happened to this!?" the gawky teenager clerk asked.

"You don't wanna know. Just-, do you think you could save the sim and maybe some of the photos?"

"Nudes?" he asked with a smug smile and a wink.

"What? No! Just, try your best?"

The teenager shrugged. "We'll see what we can do, but no promises. Come back tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine, whatever. Thank you." He went to leave but then spun back around. "Um, one more thing. Are there any occult shops near here?"

If the clerk was fazed by the question, he didn't show it. 

Five minutes later, Eddie found himself browsing books in a spiritual shop. He didn't really have any idea what he was looking for. Symbols and runes? Demons maybe? Sadly there weren't any signs directing him to the tentacle monster section, so he tried the sales desk.

The assistant hadn't even acknowledged his presence when he walked in. He was too absorbed in a magazine about true life alien abductions. Eddie cleared his throat to catch their attention. He had to do it twice.

"Yes, what?" came the bored reply.

"Hi, er, I need some help."

"Tantric sex books are by the self-help section in the back. We don't sell the viagra tea here but the 'Seeing Eye' down the road does."

Why was everyone making assumptions about his sex life today? Was he giving off some sort of vibe?

"Er, no. Not what I was going to ask. I found this thing in my new house and I need to know what it is."

That got the assistant's attention. He looked over his magazine at Eddie.

"What kind of 'thing'?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I dunno, some sort of circle or something? I mean, I don't know anything about these things, but stuff has been happening so..."

He sat up straighter. "You got a picture?"

"Well I thought there might be a book-"

"I'm better than any book. I've read them all." The magazine was dropped onto the desk as he held out his hand. "Let me see." 

Eddie took the folded paper from his pocket. "It's just a sketch, really." The paper was eagerly ripped from his hand and unfolded. The assistant's eyes went wide.

"Oh man! Is this accurate?"

"Well, I tried-"

"And it's in your house?"

"Yeah, the atti-"

"And stuff has been happening right? Strange freaky stuff?"

Eddie decided that he didn't to tell him about the tentacle sex.

"Yeah, you could say..."

"Oh dude! You are so screwed!" He seemed to delight in his assessment. "I would just leave if I were you. Just get out. It ain't worth it."

He offered the sketch back to Eddie, but he didn't take it.

"Um, could you maybe elaborate a little bit?"

He rolled his eyes with a sigh, but went onto to explain anyway.

"This is some serious hardcore shit, you know? This is, like, a summoning circle that's been turned up to eleven. I'm guessing it opens a portal somewhere but then it keeps it open for, like, easy access, you know?  So whatever they've summoned can just come and go as it pleases. But then-..."

He turned the drawing around inspecting more of the symbols.

"Huh. That's-... weird."

"What, even more weird than a portal in my house?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. You see this row here?" He pointed to a section of the design that looked the same as the rest to Eddie. "Those are, like, containment runes."

"Meaning...?" Eddie prompted.

"Meaning, this thing is like a cage. These hardcore dudes summoned a creature but then trapped it here while still keeping the passageway open. You get me?"

Eddie took a moment then shook his head. The assistant gave a frustrated sigh.

"It's like...It's like..." he searched for the right words."It's like house arrest, you know? The creature can move anywhere it wants as long as it where the two portals are. Sort of like a corridor. Your house is one end, their own plane of existence, or whatever, is another but they can't fully go into either. It can't escape this end and it can't get back home on the other. It's fucking cruel really."

"Yeah... Yeah it is," Eddie quietly agreed.

"I mean, if I were stuck in somewhere like that I'd be pissed as hell. I'll say it again, man, you should just leave." 

"Yeah. I'll think about that." He handed the sketch back and Eddie folded it away."But if I wanted to stay, how would I, like, set it free?"

"You wanna set it free!?"

"Or just get it out of my house. Send it back to its own plane, or whatever."

The assistant blew out a breath through his teeth."Well, normally you'd just rub out the circle, but this is painted on, right?"

"Carved in actually."

"Fucking hell! They were not fucking around with this one! Just, um, break the circle. But you gotta do it right else it'll just come fully into our world, understand?"

"I think so."

"Here. We have a pamphlet somewhere." He started rooting around under the desk and pulled out an aged tri fold-out with the title 'Correctly Closing Your Rituals'. "The basics are all in there. We sell supplies if you want them?"

Eddie looked over the instructions. Amazingly, it didn't look too complicated.

"Uh, no, I won't for now, but thanks. Thanks for the help."

"No worries, fellow traveller into the unknown. Good luck with your monster." He gave a salute. Eddie echoed it back.

Cage.

A cage.

It was the only thing Eddie's mind could focus on as he left the shop. Whoever had summoned that creature had also trapped it here. And god only knows how long ago that was.

His perception of the whole situation was shifting. The horror from yesterday was finding new context. It was a being from a different world, captured and forced to stay in that house, probably for decades, probably infusing the whole building with its will, and then he went and destroyed part of it. No wonder it tried to rip him apart. 

But after that came sex. Lots and lots of sex. And when he felt he couldn't take anymore, it fed him and healed him, and now it was asking him to stay. 

His instincts were telling him that he only had half the story. There was more to learn. He would start with the previous owners. Maybe discovering who was in the house before him could give him some clues?

He quickly drove to the local record office and paid the free for the Abstract of Title. Really, he should have done this  _ before _ he bought the house, but let's be honest, there were  _ a lot _ of things he should have done before he bought the house.

He waited while the clerk compiled the report. He was waiting a fair amount of time. She had to refill the paper tray - twice.

"Let me go and find the extra long paper fasteners," she said before disappearing into a cupboard.

Extra long? Just how big was this thing?

About the size of a phonebook as it turned out. Eddie heaved it from the counter waving his thanks to the clerk. There was a library nearby. It was as good a place as any to read, and he could jump on the computers if he found anything promising.

The report was long, and tedious. There were a lot of names, but as Eddie worked through the dates, he did the mental math and quickly found a pattern. Most of the owners called it quits around the three month mark. Some made it to a year, some only a few weeks, and in between were long stretches of unoccupancy. The creature had managed to drive everyone away. 

Except for the Willard-Campbell's. They were among the first owners of the house and certainly lived in it for the longest. Nearly twenty years by Eddie's account, their tenure coming to an end in 1911. They were surely the most likely culprit. No one after them stayed for long. Eddie logged on to one of the aging PC's and started Googling. He quickly hit pay dirt.

It was a blog dedicated to the history of the occult in San Francisco and the Willard-Campbell's had their own page. 

The Occultists of Pine Street

Thomas and Josephine Willard-Campbell are by far San Francisco's most legendary occultists. They became famous during the late Victorian era spiritualist movement, often holding séances at their Pine Street address. These were generally well-attended and soon became an invite-only event. It was perceived to be quite an honour to be included in their exclusive parties.

As the Willard-Campbell's rose through the social echelons, Thomas developed a deep fascination with alchemy and demonology, and subsequently stopped appearing as Josephine's soirees. When asked where her husband was, Josephine would simply reply that,

"...he is off playing with the imps and gnomes." 

It was during this time (c.1897) that Thomas created his 'Adhibete Iudicium' formula [Summon and Maintain] as noted in his self-published work 'Transdimensional Theory and Application for the Modern Alchemist' (c.1905).

In it, Thomas explained how he had created an invocation spell combined with an intricate summoning circle in order to conjure a demon at will. Said demon would then be bound to the location until the incantation was reversed. Sadly, all copies of the spell and the accompanying floor diagram have since been lost. It was suggested that the closest friends of the couple took it upon themselves to destroy every copy of it following their death.

We are however offered a fascinating glimpse into what Thomas might have been summoning in this extract of a letter (dated March 22, 1899) sent to his sister Eliza, who was also a high-ranking member in occultist circles:

"Dear Eliza,

You would not believe the success I have had with my Adhibete Iudicium!Just two days ago we enacted the formula and called upon a magnificent creature. I tell you, it is quite shocking to look upon, but you shall see it yourself when you soon come to visit.

At first it was hard to discern what the purpose of the creature was - as you know, all beings have desires and needs - but thankfully our maid, Bess, aided us in this discovery. She strayed too close to the circle, poor thing, and was taken in. It made for very stimulating viewing, but after a few hours she was quite overcome with the experience. She sadly did not last the night. Josephine was sorry to see her go as she says she will be hard to replace."

A second letter dated two months later asked:

"Dear Eliza,

I hope my letter finds you well after your trip back East. The Adhibete Iudicium continues to exceed our expectations; our new 'pet' is now a regular addition to our days. However, we are in need of some assistance.

Please when you can, send some of your more vivacious young acolytes to the Pine Street house. We must keep up 'pet's' stimulation if they are to remain with us. I feel it has already become bored of our regular guests."

The last letter to be found, dated five months after the first, contained a dire warning:

"Dear Eliza,

Do NOT come to the Pine Street house. 'Pet' has somehow infected the building with their essence and is slowly driving everyone mad. We are devising a new plan on how to deal with its 'influence'. Please send more acolytes as soon as you are able."

We shall never know exactly what 'pet' was or what they were capable of doing, but Thomas must have reinstated control for him to be able to self-publish his book six years later.

What we do have are accounts in the form of diaries from their neighbours. The most tantalising snippet comes from the diary of a Mrs. P. Sneldon who lived in the house to the right of the Willard-Campbell's:

"I can abide the parties that go on till all hours, and the many strangers that parade along our street, but what is simply intolerable is the moaning. I can hear it from my garden and while at my sewing table. All day there are the most obscene noises coming from that house. I am frankly grateful for the music as it gives my mind a rest from all the lewdness. Not surprisingly, Arthur says he does not mind it, the scoundrel."

Eventually this all came to a head in the February of 1911. The street banded together to present evidence that the Willard-Campbell's were in fact running a brothel outside of the restricted area. This claim was never fully substantiated, but the couple were duly arrested and taken into custody. They did not survive the night.

The next morning when the duty officer came to bring them breakfast, he discovered that Thomas and Josephine had taken their own lives in their separate cells. The only clue was a note written on Josephine's handkerchief in red lipstick. It simply read:

"We go to be with Venom."

This incredibly cryptic message has baffled historians for over a century now. Many claim that the Pine Street address is in fact haunted by the Willard-Campbell's, and it has certainly gone through many owners over the years. But maybe one day the truth about what really happened in that house will come to light and the mystery of who or what 'Venom' is will be solved.

But Eddie didn't need to solve it. He already knew the answer. 'Venom' was living in his attic and it was waiting for him to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the lack of smut in this chapter, but I promise, more is coming!
> 
> Kudos is great, but comments make my day! :D


	5. The Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta.

By the time Eddie got back to the house the rain had been pouring for some time. Any trepidation he had about returning had been washed away on the drive back. He was absolutely soaked and shivered continuously as he carried his now lukewarm pad thai to the door. His numb fingers fumbled with the keys, and he dropped them twice before the house took mercy and opened it for him. He hurried inside with a mumbled "oh thank god".

He didn't notice how the lights were already on for him, or how the curtains were drawn against the deepening night, but the roaring flames in the fireplace were hard to miss. At this point his brain didn't even question it, all it could think was  _ warmwarmwarmwarmwarm _ ...  He rushed over, dropping his dinner on the coffee table, and raised his hands to the fire. He flexed his fingers, trying to bring the feeling back as the wonderful warmth washed over him. It gave him goosebumps.

Eddie stood there for a while, gently steaming, basking in the heat. He looked up at the chimney breast with a grateful sigh. "Thank you." The flames burned a little brighter for a moment as if in response. He needed to get out of his wet clothes though. He hung up his jacket, kicked off his boots and was halfway up the stairs when he realised he would need to go into the bedroom.

He was hesitating. It wasn't fear exactly, but everything he had learned today came to the forefront of his mind. And it kept getting stuck on one word -  _ cage _ . Venom was trapped here, and by now he'd seen both their good and bad sides. The house might be doing nice things for him at the moment, but would that change once he was in range of its tentacles?

The desire to get into dry clothes overtook everything else, so Eddie swallowed his indecision. He practically crept into his room, staying close to the wall and away from the bed. It was silly really. He didn't think that it — that Venom — was still mad at him, but he wasn't ready for another marathon fucking session either. He quickly grabbed his sweats and hoodie and left his wet jeans and t-shirt to dry in the bathroom. He gave his hair a quick towel while he was there.

The fire was still blazing when he returned downstairs, but his pad thai was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, um, where-?

The sound of sizzling from the kitchen caught his ears. Eddie rounded the corner to find his dinner being reheated in his wok on the stove. It was another nice surprise, and he smiled at the gesture. He took over and gave the pan a good few shakes to get everything moving.

He looked at the radio on the fridge. So far, it had been their only form of verbal communication. "Thank you. You didn't have to." A warm buzz of static came and went before it clunked on to the same music station. Eddie was starting to wonder if it even was a real radio station, but maybe it didn't really matter.

He ate his food in the sitting room, staring at the flames and trying to discern his next move. Frankly, they needed to find a way to talk. He didn't know how much of what he'd read was actually true and how much of it was based on misunderstanding. A few words from a radio wasn't enough to get a full picture either. He would have to make the first move...

 

Eddie sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed staring up at the ceiling. He wasn’t entirely sure where to start.

"Hey, so, um, I think we should maybe, I dunno, try and talk? Like, if that's even possible? I'm not gonna leave, you know, we just need....ground rules- maybe? Because, let's face it, we can't go on like this. I just-....I need to understand you, okay?"

There was silence. No rustlings or knocking or sounds of acknowledgement. He let out a dejected sigh. Maybe they were still mad at him?

Then something small and warm nudged his hand and Eddie nearly had a fit. He jerked away from the touch to find that a small black tendril had materialised through the covers. The end of it was bent over in a pseudo head, but Eddie's reaction caused it to coil back like a frightened animal.

He tried to calm himself and put up his hand in a placating gesture.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. You just scared me is all. Okay?"

The tendril hesitated, but then straightened back to its previous position. Eddie took the moment to truly appreciate the form before him. He'd never really noticed how its surface caught and reflected the light, or how it was always undulating like a viscous fluid. Even when it was still, it wasn’t.

Cautiously, Eddie reached out a finger towards it. It was so small and non-threatening like this; it was actually pretty cute. It seemed to study his offering, trying to gauge his intent. And then it booped the end of it. Eddie couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay; I'm not gonna bite." Which was such a ridiculous thing to say. This delicate tendril was actually part of a massive creature, yet it was acting so timid. However, it appeared encouraged by his reaction and came back in closer. It looked it over his hand intently, then ran it's 'cheek' down its length like a cat. Eddie chuckled again.

"There we go."

He started moving his fingers, offering strokes and scritches and the tendril lapped it up.

"Not so big and scary like this, you know. Not that the big and scary version is so awful, really."

The tendril curled under his hand and into his palm, rubbing itself against the mound of his thumb. Eddie enjoyed the contact before he continued.

"You know, I read something today, and I was wondering if it was true. Is your name Venom?"

The tendril froze.

"Oh, is it not Venom?"

It wavered in position. It pushed forward but then drew itself back. Eddie got the distinct impression that it wanted to answer but didn't know how.

"Okay, what about just yes and no? Can you do that?"

The tendril nodded.

"Oh my god!" Eddie grinned. "Okay, so- geeze, what do I ask first? Alright, so Venom is your name, correct?"

After a long pause it nodded.

"Right, but you don't like that name, do you? That's the impression I'm getting. Am I in the right area?"

It nodded again, more enthusiastically.

"Okay, well I have to call you something. How about, um..." he trailed off thinking of a nickname. "How about just Vee? Can I call you that?"

The tendril rushed to find his hand again and rub itself all over it.

"Well I guess that's a yes. Hello Vee, I'm Eddie."

The tendril stopped its moving and looked up at him almost in awe, or as much awe as a blob on the end of a stem could convey. He pointed at it. "You, Vee," he pointed to himself, "me, Eddie." And he smiled.

There was a sudden rush of movement up his back, making Eddie gasp, but before he could even think to react, half a dozen feelers were running through his hair. They started massaging his head, hitting all sorts of spots that made his eyes flutter. He leaned back into the touch.

"Oh god," he sighed.

The tendril butted at his hand, so he started stroking it again and rubbing it between his fingers. His head fell forward, his breathing already heavy. They were working his neck too, and he swallowed hard. He could already feel his body becoming pliant. How were they doing that so quickly? But it had to stop or else he would lose himself in it. 

"No...no, no…” Eddie weakly protested. “I still have... questions...Stop...stop distracting me..."

The feelers reluctantly retreated, kissing the back of his ears and winding down his spine as they left. He shivered, already missing the touch. They would have to come back to that later. Eddie shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked down at the tendril that was motionless against his palm.

"Look, that was really-...fuck, that was really nice, but I-... I need to know, are you even happy here? I mean, I think I could maybe...set you free - if you wanted it?

The tendril backed away under his hand and across the bed.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, okay? Come back, please?"

He held out his hand towards it. The tendril dove for it, but instead of meeting his fingers it covered his entire palm in black sludge. It immediately seeped under his skin and Eddie's mind thundered with a barrage of sensations. He yelled from the intensity of it and scrambled from the bed, severing the connection. He leaned against the dresser, panting heavily.

"What the- what the  _ hell  _ was that!?"

The tendril was crouched low on the covers, looking scared and ashamed. Eddie's panic instantly softened. It probably hadn't been intentional. It was likely they hadn’t done that in a long time. 

"Just-...just give me a minute." He willed his heart to calm down and his breathing to steady. He couldn't fuck this up, not when they were so close to communicating. He had to control his fear if this was going to work. He let out a long breath and moved back towards the bed. The tendril perked up.

"Okay, you can try that again, but you have to go slow, you hear?"

It eagerly nodded.

"Well, alright then." He let out another long breath and kneeled by the bed, offering a handshake. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He was literally offering himself up to a creature from another world. But the thought that Venom had some sort of psychic abilities was intriguing. It actually explained quite a lot, and if it meant they could find a way to properly talk, then it was worth it.

The tendril rose up and gently looped around his wrist. Eddie readied himself for the next part. He watched as ever so slowly, the end of it sunk into his skin and warmth bloomed all up his arm.

"Oh wow. That's actually pretty nice."

But then he felt it, and it crashed into him like a tidal wave.

It was like not being able to read, like hieroglyphs mixed with cyrillic, lost in a landscape with no features. It was being pulled in by gravity, caught in an avalanche, and swept out to sea on the tide. But then it was too close and hot; it was a restricting corset, slowly suffocating in a box that was too small. It was being buried alive; it was staring into the sun; it was jumping off a cliff into fathomless depths, and all the time just feeling like you were shouting into an endless void.

Eddie's mind reeled at the sensations that were running through him. He couldn't understand them, couldn’t find the meaning, and they were completely overpowering him. He had to remember to breathe.

"I can't- I don't-..." he choked.

The feelings relented and he took in a lungful of air. He had failed. His tiny human mind couldn’t comprehend what Venom was trying to tell him.

"...I'm sorry," he sighed.

There was movement on his shoulder. He turned to see a tendril was actually coming out of his skin. He freaked a little and leaned away from it, but it simply snaked round his head and tapped at the skin behind his ear. Eddie's memory flittered to last night and what happened when they went inside his brain. They were going to change him again. He didn’t hesitate. 

"Do it."

The pain was instant and blinding. He screwed his eyes shut and hissed through his teeth, but then it faded and in its place were words. But Eddie knew they weren't really words. It was some sort of translation or interpretation. Part of him had been rewired so he could understand.

_...Want...need...desire...give...safe...warm...want...give...need...want...safe.... _

The string just kept repeating in no discernible pattern. It wasn’t providing any new answers.

"But what exactly do you  _ want _ ?" he interrupted. 

An image filled his mind. It was a top down view of the bed, and he could see himself writhing in pleasure, encased in a cocoon of black. Patches of skin peeked through as their form shifted and fitted to the contours of his body, his cock standing proud as his other muscles strained for release. He could see how the ooze was moving and undulating around him, putting pressure in all the right places. The memory of that experience thrummed along his nerves.

"Oh god," Eddie moaned.

He had sunk down beside the bed, his knees shifting apart, his head and chest now resting on the mattress. He had never before considered filming himself having sex or jerking off, but watching himself now, the way he was rolling around in ecstasy, knowing he was being manipulated for maximum satisfaction, was the hottest thing he'd ever seen. Arousal throbbed deep within his core. He fisted the sheets with every pulse. 

But then it wasn't him anymore, it was a woman. And then a man. And then someone older, someone younger. All ages, all races, even multiple someone's, all sharing the bed, all covered in black ooze that showed every detail of their hungry bodies, all moving in glorious raptures. It was an orgy where every kink was indulged. Women fucking women, men with their asses in the air, others bound and gagged, a sea of impossible shapes, a cacophony of moans, over a century's worth of orgasms.

All of which was being fed directly into Eddie's brain. His cock strained hard against his boxers, but he couldn't even find a thought to free it. He just whined into the sheets, his knuckles going white. His hips jerked forward, wanting so much to be a part of the action in his head, so Venom helped. Eddie wasn't even aware of the feelers running down his ribs and under his waistband, but he sighed with relief when they finally released his dick. 

“Oh god, oh yes,” he breathed. “Don’t stop.” They sheathed it in the same dark mass that he knew well by now, and it quickly set to work.

The pressure was exquisite, the twist and pull motion divine. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his mouth went slack, his thighs tensing with every wave of desire that that came through their connection. He understood it now. The wanting, the need, the desperation of reaching a climax, the blissful state that followed. Venom hungered for it all. For as much as Eddie was experiencing all the physical sensations, Venom was greedily eating up his emotional response. They lapped it from him like a steady stream of honey from a jar. It fed them, it nourished them, and gave them the power to push their consciousness away from their physical form. Eddie followed it and suddenly became aware of a million different things.

He could feel himself there, in the room, mindlessly rutting away, but then there was more. It was the carpet on the floor, the drapes on the window, the wood in the walls, the dust on the bricks, the tiles on the roof, the wind across the chimney, the hum of the fridge, the pipes under the floorboards, the creak of furniture, the heat of the boiler, the electricity in the wires, the rain in the gutters, the streetlight through the windows, the bugs deep in the earth, and the grass growing on the lawn. Eddie could feel it all and so much more. He could feel how Venom had soaked themselves into every nook and cranny, into every fiber of the building, and how tightly they clung to it.

They clung tightly to him, too. It wasn't just about his cock anymore. Feelers were roaming all over his body, touching and groping, like a dozen experienced hands all searching for the right button to press. One gentle graze of a nipple later, and Eddie roared into the covers as he came. His abs tensed almost to the point of pain with each shot, the sheath making sure to catch every drop that was offered. The feelers continued their movements, helping to prolong the wave of bliss he was currently riding. When he was finally spent, his dick was gently put back into his boxers.

Sleep called to him, but he pushed it away. He wasn't done yet. He wasn’t going to stop now, not when they had come so far. Still breathing heavily, Eddie found enough energy to turn his head towards the tendril still embedded into his arm.

"It’s pleasure, isn't it? Pleasure is like... it's what you eat."

Eddie had to know if what he thought he understood was correct. He had to get it right. Another small tendril rose up from the bed within his eye line and he automatically moved his untethered hand to cup it. He lazily rubbed his thumb up and down its length and it snuggled in closer.

_... Hungry.... desire.... pleasure.... feed....eat.... _

Eddie's eyes fluttered as new knowledge was pushed into his head. Sexual pleasure was the best, the most filling, but it wasn't everything. There was the pleasure of a warm fire on a cold day, of soaking in a deep bath, of singing in the shower and dancing in the kitchen. Of coffee in the morning, chocolate syrup on pancakes, the smell of fresh laundry, reading a good book, and snuggling down into a soft bed on a stormy night. There were hundreds of little pleasures that would feed them, but it was the little things they lived for. They longed for those the most. It made them feel included, made them feel like they existed.

Eddie's eye stung. He knew this feeling.

"Lonely."

_...Lonely.... _  they repeated. Then after a little while they added  _....first.... _

"What?"

The tendril glided closer to his face and touched his nose.

_...First... _ they said again.

Eddie tried to put together what they were inferring.

"I'm the first what exactly?"

The tendril tapped his temple.  _....First... _

"Hang on," he lifted his head, "are you saying I'm the first to try and  _ talk _ to you?"

The tendril caressed his cheek.

_...Special.... _

"No, but that's just- what about the Willard-Campbell's? Didn't they try?"

The tendril retreated slowly, its tip bowed like it was hanging its head. The implications of not being able to properly communicate with anyone for over a century hit Eddie like a brick. He could just imagine it now - being alone all that time, trapped in this house, trying to reach out and either being ignored or outright rejected. They had probably tried so many times too. But people are scared of what they don’t understand, and Venom was the one who always got left behind.

"Holy fuck. That's- that's awful."

The tendril looked up at him.

_....Sad.... _

"Only for you. You didn't ask to be here."

He cupped it back in his hand, and it wriggled happily in his fingers.

_....Special.... _ they said again and more images flipped through in his head.

It was Eddie touching the woodwork when he came to the view the house. It was him showing they were already pretty and wanting to make them beautiful. It was how he smiled when they did something for him, how he called them darling before leaving, and saying 'honey, I'm home' when he came back. He treated them like a person before he even knew there was anyone there.

Eddie found himself choking up. Affection was blooming in his chest and it wasn’t his. 

_...Special....warm.... _

"What?" His confusion broke his introspection.

The feelers on his body, that had long since gone still, sprung back into life. They curled under his arms and thighs and encouraged him to get up.

"Whoah, what-..?"

They manoeuvred him to sit on the bed and promptly vanished back into the mattress.

"Could have just asked, you know?" he said with a small smile.

A deep warmth started spreading up his back, and Eddie looked over to see the ooze had returned. He lifted his arms slightly as it reached across his chest, and lowered them as it draped over his shoulders. Then it squeezed, and Eddie came to realise that it was hug. He felt his throat tightening up again.

_...Warm... _ they repeated.

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms trying to hug back. 

"Yeah, warm," he echoed.

They stayed like that for a while, the soft weight holding him tight. It was a wonderfully comforting feeling, but also Eddie needed some time to work through everything that he had learned. It was a lot to take in in one go. He thought back to all those blank spaces on the list of owners, how Venom would be empty, practically starving, and how it was probably their desperate actions that had caused the previous tenants to flee. Not everyone can handle a tentacle monster wanting to have sex with you.

But Eddie wasn't going to flee. He knew as soon as he stepped through the door that something about him and the house just fit. It just felt right. And now, sitting there half cocooned in a sentient mass of goo, it was just perfect. This is where he was supposed to be.

"Hey, um, Vee?"

A vibration went through their mass to show they were listening.

"Would it be okay if- I mean, if you don't mind, could you, um... could you stay like this, tonight?"

In answer they surged further down his biceps and up his neck, squeezing just a little tighter. Eddie smiled and shuffled down so he could lay his head on the pillows. The ooze travelled further down his body to hug the outside of his thighs and the back of his legs. It didn't take long for him to settle, the weight and warmth of Venom lulling him to sleep in a way that no other person ever had.

An unseen hand switched off the light and the house went still.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos is great, but comments make my day! :D


	6. The Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle warning for some hurt/comfort in this chapter.
> 
> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta.

A loud banging brought Eddie round from his slumber. Someone was at the front door. It was morning and Venom was nowhere to be seen. He blearily wiped the sleep from his eyes and trundled down the stairs. They were knocking again.

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!"

He opened the door to find a man wearing a jumpsuit and hat, and holding a tablet. A large bag sat by his feet.

"Good morning! I'm Ted and I'm here to get you connected!"

He was far too chirpy for this time of day.

"Sorry, what?" Eddie’s brain was still catching up.

"I'm Ted from Bay TV and Broadband," He moved his tablet to reveal the logo on his jumpsuit. And pointed to the van parked on the road. "You are Eddie Brock, correct?"

Right, cable and internet. They were being installed today. And then Eddie's stomach dropped.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Ted asked.

Eddie scrambled to get his thoughts together.

"Er, yeah, sorry. Late night last night."

That was a total lie. It had been a relatively early night and one of the best damn sleeps of his life.

"And yeah, I'm Eddie. Please come in."

He opened the door wider.

"Right-o," said Ted picking up his bag. "Just through here is it?" He motioned to the living room. Eddie nodded.

"I'll just be right back, okay?" Eddie added. He didn't wait for a response, all but running up the stairs at the first opportunity.

He burst into the bedroom and looked up at the ceiling.

"Listen, Vee, are you there? I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I forgot about the cable and now they're going to start drilling into the walls, and I don't know if that's going to hurt, but I didn't know when I booked them, and I need the internet Vee. I promise you'll like it too, but I'm sorry, okay? Okay? Please let me know that you understand? Vee?"

There was nothing.

"Fuck!"

He came back downstairs, scanning for anything that didn't seem normal. Ted was already kneeling in the far corner, measuring up where to install the box. His bag of tools was open next to him.

"Looks like you've got a bit of mold back here." He called.

"Oh, is that so?" Eddie replied, distracted.

"Happens in these old houses. You just got to keep an eye on it."

But Eddie was keeping an eye on it. It was crawling down from the ceiling towards Ted.

"Stop it!" he hissed.

"You say something?" Ted asked, turning his head.

"Uh yeah, uh, how do you, um, stop it?" Eddie covered. He eyed the wall as the corruption halted.

"Oh, there are treatments you can get, but mostly it's about air flow and moisture." He was making marks on the wall with a pencil. "I mean, I can see that you've got a bit of a fixer-upper on your hands anyway, so maybe just redoing the place will help."

The corruption shot forward.

"Wait!" Eddie yelled.

Ted turned towards him confused, the mold had stopped right above his head.

"Uh, I mean, just be careful yeah? Like, don't make a bigger hole than you have to, please? I'm trying to take care of...her."

Ted's expression turned understanding and the mold slowly backed away.

"Don't you worry about a thing. I've been doing this for 15 years. You'll hardly notice that anything's here."

He offered a smile, which Eddie weakly returned, and then set about putting his drill together.

"How about a glass of water?" Eddie suggested.

"That would be lovely, thanks."

Eddie marched off to the kitchen and kept his voice to a whisper.

"Please Vee, don't mess this up. I know it's shit, but I need this. It means I'll be able to stay and-.."

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Eddie’s body was locked in pure agony, pain shooting through his spine like fire. He couldn't even yell. The intensity was setting every nerve ablaze.

The feeling relented and he instantly started gulping down air. His mind was scattered, searching for an answer, aftershocks were running through his system. And then his ears registered the drill.

"Oh god."

His body convulsed again. It might as well as have been drilling right into his skull. He wanted to scream, wanted to run away into the smallest, darkest corner he could find, but he couldn’t even move.

The drill pulled out and Eddie knew he only had moments before it started again. His trembling hands grabbed a wooden spoon from the counter and jammed it between his teeth. He curled up into a tight ball on the floor and waited. It didn’t take long.

He roared through the torment, all his muscles tense against the relentless onslaught. There wasn't anything he could do about it. He couldn't tell Ted to stop, and he couldn't make it upstairs to ask what was happening. He just had to bear through it. His vision was starting to tunnel. He wasn't breathing enough. At every break, he gasped in a breath and prayed for it to be over. At least the noise of the drill was loud enough to cover his screams.

It finally seemed like the work was finished, and Eddie whimpered in relief on the floor. There was a scraping along his skin as Ted did something else, but that was much easier to ignore. He must look like a wreck though. His face was red and wet from tears, his throat absolutely raw. He grabbed a glass and managed to swallow some water, but then the cup flew from his hand as something hard and sharp stabbed into his arm.

He cried out, but then quickly covered his mouth when it was obvious there was nothing actually there. Back in the living room, Ted was hammering into the walls. Eddie could feel every nail like it was being driven directly into his muscles. There wasn't any noise to cover his distress now, he simply had to breathe through it, each blow bringing fresh pain. He slumped back to the floor next to the sink.

It wasn't like the drill either. That was constant, but this was irregular, no telling when the next one was coming. Eddie flinched every time, the ache of the previous one not even gone before the next one started. He begged for it to be over, pleaded that Ted would finish quickly, his nerves were all shot. He clawed at the fridge, its cool surface offering some reprieve.

After what felt like an eternity, the tools were being packed away. The TV was on and being flipped through the various channels. Eddie stuttered in a breath and swallowed hard. If he didn't make an appearance Ted would come looking for him, and he couldn't let him find him like this.

He managed to pull himself up to the sink and turn on the taps. The water ran up his arms in a way that was totally impossible but helped to ease his overheated skin. His breathing was heavy, and he wiped his face to try and hide his crying. He shoved all of his resolve into appearing slightly normal and shuffled back towards the living room. He hugged himself to try and hide the uncontrollable shaking.

Ted had his back to him, checking that everything was working. His tablet was currently measuring the internet speed.

"All done?" Eddie's voice cracked as he asked the question. Ted spun round.

"Oh hey, yeah. All good to go I think." His forehead creased as he looked at Eddie. "Are you okay? Look like you've taken a turn."

"I'm fine. Just, um, last night catching up."

"Must've been one hell of a good one," he smirked. Eddie hated him now. "Well, how about I just leave the instruction books instead then? You seem like a tech-savvy sort of guy." He winked. Eddie seriously needed him to leave.

"Sounds good," he croaked.

Ted seemed to take an extortionate amount of time to pack up his things. Eddie just stood there, trying not to shake. His body was still racked with pain like an open wound. He knew he was sweating and looked awful. He didn't take Ted's offered hand when he was at the door.

"Well, you have a good day now!" Ted was smiling way too much.

"Thanks," Eddie replied trying to make his voice sound bright, but it only sounded strained.

Ted tipped his hat and turned away. Finally, Eddie could close the door. He all but collapsed right there and then.

"Vee," he wailed. "Vee!" He was already breaking down into sobs.

He slumped against the wall, his fingers searching for a way to drag himself to the stairs. It seemed like such a herculean task just to get to them, let alone climb them. He heaved himself up, step by step, clinging to the balustrade. It wasn't ending. The pain wasn't stopping. It almost felt like it was getting worse. His head pounded and his vision was starting to blur.

He reached the landing and the bedroom door was open. His beautiful bed was barely a few steps away. He hoisted himself to his feet and lurched at the doorframe. Only a little more, not far now. He just had to find the will to move.

"Vee... what did you do... what did-..."

His eyes rolled backwards, and his body crumpled into the carpet. Unconsciousness had taken him.

 

Eddie was lying on his side somewhere soft and warm. His hair was being stroked and soothing touches ran down his arms and back. Moisture lingered on his lips. It was sweet and tasted of strawberries. Eddie's eyes fluttered open and he was somehow on the bed. Nothing hurt anymore, but he felt weak. The sensation of sunshine on his arm told him they were connected again.

"What- what happened?" His voice was still shaky.

_...Pain...mine...yours...mistake..._

"H- how?"

_...Special...bond..._

A tendril ran down his cheek.

"I don't understand."

_...Connection...strong....bonded...special..._

"But we weren't- we weren't connected."

_...Special..._

The other tendrils were lavishing him with gentle affection. A feeling of comfort and reassurance had settled into his chest, and Eddie clung to it. But he couldn’t help the shame and guilt coursing through his veins. He buried his head into the pillow. The whole thing had been so intensely awful. How could Venom ever forgive him?

"I- I'm so sorry Vee. I didn't know it would hurt that much."

_...Pain...mistake..._

"But you felt it too, didn't you?"

_...Older...bigger...stronger..._

There was that weight against his back again, a squeeze around his chest. He felt around his ribs trying to make contact with it.

_...Young... small... fragile...learning...._

The ooze seeped in between his fingers. It was almost like holding hands.

_...Special..._

A tendril wiped water from his face. He didn't even realise he was crying. He would be haunted by the memory of that experience forever. Just thinking about the nails again made him flinch. He curled up into a ball and the ooze spread over him much thicker.

“I’m so sorry, Vee.” His voice was muffled, but his emotion wasn’t.

The hug grew tighter.

_...Safe...warm…_

Eddie did his best to hug back. He vowed right there and then that he would never hurt them again. He wouldn’t even hang a picture if it meant causing them pain. The ooze on his skin soaked down into his muscles, and more warmth followed. It was such a strange feeling to be touched inside like that, but the more Venom did it, the more Eddie wanted it. All of his tension was melting away, and his mind began to drift. It was an intoxicating feeling.

After lying there for some time under Venom’s ministrations, Eddie noticed his strength slowly returning. He let out a long breath and looked at the clock. It was a little past 4pm. He wanted to stay right where he was and not move - for the rest of the week if possible, but there were things that had to be done. Things that, sadly, couldn’t be put off. With much reluctance, he made to sit up, and was instantly pulled back down again.

_...Stay..._

"Wish I could; I really do. I won't be gone long though, I promise."

_...Stay..._ this time it was slightly more insistent.

The feelers were working across his head again, making Eddie smile.

“Later, love.”

That seemed to be a satisfactory answer. This time the tendrils helped him off the bed, and left kisses on his skin as they retreated. He had to grab onto one of the posts for support at first; he wasn't yet entirely stable on his feet. He still felt drained, but the quicker he left, the quicker he could come back. It was enough of an incentive to try moving.

He took a step and his belly sloshed a little.

"Hey, did you feed me again?"

 

Eddie found that focusing on the tasks he had to complete helped him shake off the nightmare of the morning. He had to get a new phone, explain his absence to his boss, and get groceries. The first one was easy.

He swung by the phone shop. Turns out his old cell only looked awful. Everything inside was able to be salvaged. He brought a new basic smartphone just to tide him over.

He had been dreading the call to his boss. He'd practiced his lie since he left the house and hoped it sounded convincing. She gave him an earful that the whole office probably heard, but he promised he would be in tomorrow. Threats about losing his job were made, but he assured her that he had the internet now, so there wouldn't be any more communication problems. She hung up without saying goodbye. Really it had gone better than he had imagined.

The last job was the easiest. He didn't even really need to think about what food to get, but his mind strayed to how he was not long ago curled up on the kitchen floor, and suddenly he was intimately planning out several meals for the rest of the week. He brought more than he could reasonably carry on the bike, but going slow and concentrating would be another distraction.

He got back as the sun was setting. As soon as he turned the corner he felt a surge of relief at seeing the house. When he got near the door with his bags, it opened for him.

"Oh, thanks love."

But then he came to a sudden halt in the entrance.

It struck him that he was home. He was actually home. Of all the places he'd lived, of all the places he'd been, coming back here truly felt like coming home. He belonged here, and it made his breath catch. It didn’t matter what happened now. This was where he wanted to be for the rest of his life.

As if waiting for that very cue, the walls started changing again. Eddie watched as beauty once more took over. It bled through the woodwork and floorboards like an ever expanding ink stain, the varnish restored and gleaming. It seeped along the paint and wallpaper, subtly changing the colours to something fresh and clean. It delicately danced along the ceilings, finding every detail of moulding and bringing it to life. It smoothed cracked plaster and made the windows sparkle.

Eddie walked with it down the hallway, enjoying being able to witness how everything was transforming and becoming better. He dropped his bags on the kitchen table and went round to the dining room hoping to see how it was being altered. The chairs seemed to stand up straighter, the shelves no longer just off level. Looking through to the lounge, the couch had never been plumper, the fireplace never so grand. The sunset caught the stained glass panels and threw distorted shapes of colour around the room. Eddie smiled.

"You look beautiful darling."

He came back into the gleaming kitchen and began putting away his shopping.

"Fixer-upper, my ass!" he snorted. "You show him, Vee."

He didn't linger long and quickly grabbed his laptop and the new wi-fi password to hurry upstairs. The changes were still settling in up here. He kicked off his shoes and socks and revelled in the plush carpets.

Venom was waiting for him, draped all over the bed frame from the hole in the ceiling. He padded up to them, a tentacle rising slightly to meet him.

"Hello gorgeous."

He gave it a quick kiss, and a shiver ran down from its tip to the core. All the tentacles and tendrils came towards him after that.

"Hang on, let me get changed first."

He swapped his jeans for sweats and his shirt for a tank top before returning to the bed with his laptop. Immediately thick tentacles looped a comfortable weight across his shoulders, the tips caressing the skin behind his ears, a warmth in his neck telling him they were connected. Smaller tendrils came through the mattress to glide along his ribs and legs in lazy touches.

Eddie booted up his laptop and set up the new internet connection. He opened the browser, and the first page to load was the last one he had used, which was a street view of the house. It looked old and run-down.

_...Us..._

A feeler ran down the picture.

"Yeah. But you're much prettier now."

The feeler moved to stoke his face at the compliment.

"Oh and look, I found some older photos too."

He clicked onto another tab that showed the street in the 1920's. Women in flapper dresses stood on the steps.

"You were pretty snazzy back then."

_...Young...hungry....foolish...._

An emotion shivered through him. A mix of shame, regret and guilt. He sought the tendril that was still by his face and squeezed it.

"Hey, hey. What's that about?"

_...Greedy...used...abused....victims..._

"But that was ages ago. You know better now, right?"

_...Used...you..._

"What? No, you didn't-..." But then his mind went back to Sunday night. "Oh. You mean the whole regrowing the garden thing."

More shame and guilt, and oh so much regret. The tentacles on his shoulders started to retreat. He quickly reached for them.

"Hey, stop that." He took a deep breath. "Look it's- it's okay, you know? What happened, happened. And it was, well, it was fucking scary, I'm not going to lie, but it was also..."

His memory flashed back. All that suction, the way he was held and lifted, the feeling of being filled till it hurt... he swallowed hard before he continued.

"It wasn't all bad, okay? I mean, I've never cum so many times in my life, just, maybe... ask next time?"

Next time? Eddie surprised himself with how much he was ok with the idea of _that_ happening again. He sighed.

"But look, basically Vee... I forgive you. So no more bad feelings. Alright?"

Some sort of indecipherable emotion flitted across the connection, and Eddie suddenly found himself being swarmed by tentacles. They all just wanted to hug and touch and give affection. It was rather like being in the middle of a throng of over enthusiastic puppies just wanting to show how much they loved you.

Eddie was grinning.

"Hey, whoah, careful now. This laptop was expensive." It was gently carried away and placed on the nightstand. "And I'm breakable too you know."

_...Never....break....never...hurt..._

He lost himself in the all over body hug, squeezing back as much as his comparatively feeble arms would allow. He buried his head in their surface, soft and smooth, but thrumming with strength. He'd never felt so safe and secure in his life.

"I'm never going to leave this bed again, am I?"

_...Always...here..._

"It's going to make going to work really difficult."

_...Always...here..._ they repeated and there was a distinct tap at his temple.

"What?

_...Bonded...outside....together...._

"Wait. Do you mean there's a way I can take you with me? Like, we can talk when I'm not on the bed?"

_...Yes..._

"And outside the house too?"

_...Yes..._

“And you’d be able to see and hear, right?”

_...Through...you..._

Eddie's imagination immediately spilled over with all the places he'd take them, all the sights he’d show them. They'd been trapped in this house for over a hundred years; they deserved to see the world. But then he thought about the translation adjustment that was made to his brain. He wasn’t sure he could take any more pain today. Not after that morning.

"W- would it hurt?" Nerves showed in his voice for the first time.

_...Negative..._

"Would it be permanent?"

_...Forever..._

"Oh."

The mass of tentacles began to recede, his drop in mood obvious.

"No, wait, come back. I'm just thinking that's all. It's not a rejection, okay?

They returned to hug around his chest. Eddie ran his fingers all over their surface. It was so wonderfully alien.

_...We...would...understand..._

"Hey, that was nearly a sentence." He said with a small smile.

_...Learning..._ came the reply.

He rubbed their skin with his thumb. It was oddly malleable and slick, but ever so calming to stroke. He tried to be logical and work out the pros and cons of having a creature constantly inside his head. He'd never feel lonely again, but he'd also never be alone again either. They’d only known each other a few days, but were already more intimate than most people ever got. They were literally inside his head already.

Deep down, Eddie realised that it didn’t matter what the pros and cons were, he wanted it either way. He wanted Venom.

"Have you done this before?"

_...Never..._

"So I'm the first?"

A tendril smoothed down his cheek. Eddie closed his eyes and leaned towards the touch.

_...First...special...........perfect...._

He smiled.

"You think I'm perfect?"

_....Mine...my.......my...Eddie..._

He was overcome, his chest swelling with happiness until it hurt. He never thought hearing his name would be so wonderful.

"You said my name." He whispered.

_...My...Eddie..._

A wave of emotion poured through the connection and practically winded him with the strength of it. He'd never felt so much love. He was drowning in the adulation and devotion of a creature from another world. He could feel it all the way down to the toes, his blood ran thick with it. He threw his head back gasping in air. He wanted Venom to know how he felt, wanted to push his emotions back, but he didn't know how.

_...We...feel....it..._

He was once more lavished with affection, a hundred little feelers covering every inch of skin. It was a heady combination of touch and emotion, and one that Eddie could have enjoyed for hours, but now there was the opportunity for more. They could become _more_. And it might not be offered again.

It came out as a whisper, "Do it Vee. Make it happen."

Mentally, he had prepared himself for more alterations, maybe some mild body horror. What he didn't expect was to be suddenly lifted straight up through the portal in the ceiling. He could only watch in shock as the bed zoomed away from him and he passed through the four-poster canopy with ease. The bedroom shrunk to a tiny hole in a floor of black, and was quickly winked out of existence.

Eddie found himself floating in a void. It was somewhere between zero gravity and being underwater, but - as his panicked breaths told him - he could still breathe.

"What the- where am I!?"

He couldn't stay still. Every time he tried to stop moving he would just make himself tip in the other direction. His arms flailed wildly, and his feet kicked against nothing. He quickly lost which direction was supposed to be up.

**You are within.**

The voice was deep and heavy, and reverberated inside his skull in a not entirely unpleasant way. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"V-Vee? Is that... you?"

Eddie looked closer at his surroundings and saw that it wasn't really a void. He was in some sort of constantly moving sphere made from Venom's black substance. It swirled and undulated around him like a school of fish. He had no idea how he was seeing without a light source.

**We are here. Always here for our Eddie.**

There was that burst of happiness again at hearing them say his name. It was such a simple thing, and it being said by Venom’s true voice made his heart flutter.

"You can speak much better now," he said with a smile.

**This is our domain. No other has been here before you.**

"Well then, I'm honoured - truly. But, er... what happens now?"

**Now we can become whole, if you want it.**

He did hesitate, only for a moment, but Venom caught it. **No pain Eddie, only pleasure,** they reassured.

He licked his lips. “Then yeah. Yeah, I want it.”

It was odd how Eddie could sense Venom’s smile. They didn’t even have a face, but their delight was infectious. It was like a glow that came from inside. It relaxed him, and he finally allowed himself just float in the space. He was ready.

Inky tendrils began moving, like oil through water, from the edges of the sphere towards him. He found himself being undressed, and he watched as his clothes were deposited through a hole back to the bedroom. It felt like such a long way down that Eddie's stomach flipped. He was quickly distracted though as the tendrils returned and set about working his most sensitive spots.

He easily gave himself over to every sensation and was left spreadeagled in the air. His chest and throat were slathered in black, tweaking his nipples and traveling up to find those delicious places on his head. Ooze mushed through his fingers and toes, running up his forearms and calves to caress the delicate skin. His buttocks were being kneaded by strong hands with too many fingers. His inner thighs felt lovingly squeezed, the pressure moving ever so steadily north, but his rapidly hardening cock was left untouched.

He moaned and bucked his hips. Being handled like this by Venom had almost become a Pavlovian response now. He needed more. He wanted more. Wanted them to use his body in every way possible to feed their hunger. He could almost already feel it. Before, it was an awareness, a knowledge of what they required. But now it was his desire too. He wanted Venom to gorge on him, to feast upon everything he was able to provide. He wanted to be taken.

The ooze on his thighs surged up and enveloped his dick in liquid heat, making him cry out. It was so perfect, so tight and twisting, the pumping motion already driving him wild. He wasn't going to last long, not like this, and he wanted to last. But Venom had a century's worth of sexual experience and knew what to do. Eddie hissed as a tight band of pressure formed around the base of his cock, but secretly he was relieved. The rise and denial of his orgasm a delicious topping to this banquet of pleasure.

But Venom was only getting started. They moved onto his balls next. It felt as though each one was being delicately sucked and fondled by an experienced tongue. Gentle nips added a luscious level of pain and once more his orgasm was rising. The cock ring grew tighter. Denied once again.

Eddie became aware of a tentacle lingering near his face. Something wet glistened on its tip. He was already salivating at the thought. 

"Yes! Please!" he implored, breathlessly.

He opened his mouth and it easily slipped past his lips, but then grew in girth pulling his jaw wider. He quickly began sucking, that intoxicating sweet liquid washing down his throat. It was the nectar of the gods as far as he was concerned. His eyes closed in pleasure, wondering if he'd ever bother to eat solid foods again.

So lost had he been in the tentacle in his mouth, the sucking on his balls, the pumping of his dick, and all the other sensual touches across his body, that he nearly didn't notice the waiting pressure against his entrance. It rubbed wetly up and down his cleft trying to get his attention, that motion in itself drawing deep moans from Eddie's loaded mouth. He pushed back against it as much as he was able, his mind shouting a desperate _yes!_

It started slow and small, teasing him with tiny dips, but even that was enough to make the cock ring tighten again. Eddie whined, his hands balling up into fists and squeezing the goo out between his fingers. He craved to have Venom inside him now, but no amount of straining or pushing was going to make a difference. The tentacle started pressing deeper, spreading him out in increments, making sure it was nothing but wonderful. The stretch was sublime.

Eddie thrashed in mid-air, his body tensing and relaxing against the intrusion. But he could feel how much this was feeding Venom, how much it was satisfying their deep hunger. They wanted to be greedy and Eddie let them. Finally the tentacle was inside and rapidly growing bigger. It began pressing against his prostate, and Eddie whimpered with the added sensation.

He rocked with it as it started thrusting. It began gently, easing in and out to give Eddie time to adjust to its size. But soon the motion became more vigorous, each push brushing against his prostate in such a delectable way until the pressure became constant. He'd never felt so full. His ass and mouth were stuffed, his belly rounded with thick liquid. He just needed one more thing...

Venom heard his thoughts and supplied. His balls began to fill up, making his sack expand. Eddie couldn't stop groaning; he'd reached his limit now. His orgasm being held back was becoming painful.

**Open your eyes Eddie.**

He did. The void above him swirled away, revealing the most breathtaking view of a universe he'd ever seen. Everything was bathed in pinks, greens and blues. A huge planet with many rings, and a fair few moons, dominated the panorama. An asteroid belt cut a path across the scene, and a comet sailed past a nebula leaving a sparking iridescent tail. All of this was against a blanket of the most beautiful stars, the pinpricks of light so sharp and clear it almost hurt to look.

Eddie wept with the magnificence of it all. This vision was for him and no one else. This was Venom's world, the other place where they existed, and they were choosing to be with him. The suburbs over endless wonder. He would never forget it.

**Cum for us, Eddie.**

And he did. His head fell back and he roared around his gag as the cock ring was released. His orgasm shot from him in a torrent of pleasure that wasn't going to end until his balls were empty. His whole body sang, every nerve-ending dancing with joy. It was intense and glorious and so overwhelming, but he didn't want to miss a moment of it. He basked in the afterglow. The major tentacles slowly eased out, the ooze reforming into tendrils that ran lightly against his flushed skin. Everything was gentle and fluttering, and quite literally floating.

Dimly, he was aware of something warm seeping into his head. It ran between the rivets of his brain and soaked into his neurons. It found spaces he didn't know he had, filled up cracks and holes, and sent waves of love and affection deep into his soul. He couldn't help shuddering from it.

**_We are here Eddie. Here for you. Rest now. We are whole._ **

His eyes drifted closed. The last thing he saw was that dazzling view of the stars.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos is great, but comments make my day! :D


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to EponineT and gold_pen_leaps for the beta.

As it was their first Christmas together, Eddie went all out and bought a real tree. No one had stayed in the house long enough to celebrate the festive season for decades now, and Venom couldn't get enough of it. They adored being full of lights and sparkling things. Various other bits of greenery had made its way inside from the garden too, twisted and connected into beautiful garlands that were strung all over the place.

Eddie's favourite one was along the mantelpiece. It reminded him to look at all the photos that had taken up residence there. To anyone else they appeared to be a lot of selfies, and they'd probably assume that Eddie had a huge ego. But what they didn't know was that Venom was there too, in every one. They were souvenirs of their trips and sightseeing. They hadn't managed to go far yet, just a few weekends away on the bike, but had enjoyed every minute of it. At first Venom couldn't understand why Eddie asked him to smile when he took the pictures. They weren't going to appear in them, no one would know they were even there. But they soon realised that their smile made Eddie's smile bigger, so now they did it all the time.

"Okay love, last one."

Eddie finished stringing up the final ornament from the box and placed it on the coffee table. It had taken Venom a few days to adjust to the tree, but now it was a part of them like everything else in the house. Eddie watched as the bauble was consumed by the surface of the table only to be expelled on a tree branch, swinging from the force of the motion. He loved to watch Venom do this. He never got tired of seeing it happen.

He stood back to admire their handy work.

"Very nice."

**_Pretty._ **

"Next year you can decorate it all yourself if you like?"

**_Will need help with lights._ **

"Okay, well, other than that. You definitely have a talent for it."

Venom smiled at the compliment, it's infectiousness causing Eddie to grin like a loon.

Though they now had the power of speech, Venom still spoke in short, sometimes broken sentences. But they were slowly improving. It had only been a few months really. It made Eddie giddy every time their conversations got longer. They were still working on emotions though. For some reason those required physical contact, not that Eddie minded that. It was just another reason to spend more time curled up in Venom’s tentacles.

A sense tingled at the back of his head.

Eddie knew things about the house now the same way Venom did, which led to plenty of surprises as well as arguments. There had been a particularly bad one over a painting they both decided they liked while at a flea market. It was only when they got home that Eddie learned he would have to put a nail in to hang it. He had point-blank refused to do it remembering all too well what happened the last time someone put a hole in the wall. Venom assured him he wouldn't feel a thing, but he couldn't be swayed.

That night he'd had horrible uncomfortable dreams, and by morning was ready to find a compromise. But when he came downstairs the painting was hanging from a hook in the dining room. Eddie was so upset that Venom would hurt themselves like that for him that he slept in the other bedroom for three days.

Right now his sense was telling him that a group of people were lingering near the front steps. He went to the window and peeked around the curtains, groaning at what he saw. It was Claire and her cohorts, all dressed up in gaudy jumpers and hats, and carrying matching songbooks. They were currently discussing the garden and probably saying something rude.

"I guess it's too late to turn off all the lights and pretend we're not in?"

**_Yes._ **

He hated carol singers. Well, he hated the way that you just stood there at your door while they sang at you. Fun for them, not for him.

**_We will make them go._ **

"How?" Eddie asked with an intrigued smile.

**_Watch._ **

Claire trod onto the first step and her foot shot to the side like it was covered in ice. She nearly fell over, but managed to regain her balance. Eddie grinned. It was like that scene in Home Alone.

She tried again with the same result. Her confusion increased as the surface was completely dry to the touch. Some of the others were tentatively trying the step now too. Eddie snorted and could feel Venom smiling too. They had discovered a liking for physical comedy and this was ticking all the right boxes.

Claire attempted to climb the stairs again, this time with the other foot and a step above. She was thrown so firmly to the side that one of her group had to actually catch her. Eddie was full-on laughing now and had to hurry away from the window in case he was seen. No one ended up ringing the doorbell.

"Vee, you are so naughty."

**_They are leaving._ **

"Good."

Ever since he and Venom had properly bonded, Eddie knew he had been isolating himself. Sure, he went to work, he did a few social events, but he never invited anyone to the house. And he didn't regret that at all. This was their space, and he tried to spend every minute he could there. It was the only place they could freely talk, where they could truly be in each other's presence. Eddie never felt safer than when he knew Venom was all around him. It was all just so easy to keep the outside world away when it was only them.

Plus, Claire was an annoying pain in the ass, so to keep her out was an added bonus.

**_The dinner is ready._ **

"Oh, excellent."

Eddie had been cooking a turkey crown for Venom to try. They had been testing out their reactions to food to see if there was anything they could eat. Mostly just due to curiosity, but Eddie liked being able to give them something different. He took the roast out and started to carve it.

"Do you want this in the attic or bed?"

**_Bed._ **

"You always say that."

**_More comfortable._ **

"You mess up the sheets though."

**_Only you drop food. Not us._ **

He laughed as he plated up the turkey along with some potatoes, greens and gravy. He had to admit that it was true.

"Fancy a film tonight?"

**_Yes. The one with old man Santa._ **

"Gonna need more than that, love."

**_With unbelieving little girl._ **

"One more clue?"

**_There is a store._ **

"Ah, Miracle on 34th Street. Remake or original?"

**_One with colour._ **

"Remake it is then."

As he took the plate upstairs on a tray, he picked up the laptop with his other hand.

"Could you get the lights for me, love?" They flicked off as he left each room. "Thanks."

Venom was waiting for him upstairs, draped all over the bed frame as usual, a curtain of tentacles completely obscuring the back wall. A few months ago they had rearranged the other furniture in the room so that Eddie could put a TV on the dresser. It was now at the end of the bed so they could both easily watch. He connected the laptop and settled himself on the mattress with his dinner. Tentacles immediately came to embrace him and run along any exposed skin. They only got to touch him when he was here and they made the most of every opportunity.

Eddie shivered as Venom's emotions seeped into him. He looked forward to this moment at the end of every day, and drank it all in. It had to be at the end of the day because Eddie knew once he was within Venom's reach, he wouldn't leave it until he absolutely had to. It was like sinking down into a warm bath, into a place where everything was soft and comfortable. One day he hoped he could do the same for Venom.

As the film started, Eddie offered up a forkful of turkey for them to try. A tendril slid the meat off the end of it and took it back into its mass. There was a low rumble as it tasted it.

"Thoughts?"

**_It is dry._ **

"Here, try some with the gravy on."

He offered another forkful. The rumble turned slightly more into a hum.

**_Better._ **

Eddie remembered the first time they had tried chocolate. He'd gone straight out the next day to buy chocolate flavoured body paint. They had had a _lot_ of fun with that one. They should really do it again sometime soon.

They watched the film mostly in silence, Venom's lazy touches on his neck channeling their reactions to the story. At one point the tray was removed and replaced with thick tentacles across his lap so he could stroke them too. Eventually though, Eddie fell asleep. They didn't blame him. He'd had a lot of late nights recently due to deadlines. He worked so hard so they could stay together. Ooze spread out to cocoon his back and ran down to his legs so they could manoeuvre his limp body down into a more comfortable sleeping position.

The film ended, and a tendril closed the laptop with a click.

"Wha-? No, I'm awake," Eddie mumbled, wiping his eyes.

**_Rest,_ **Venom cooed.

"No, no. I'm fine. Just-... lemme brush my teeth."

He groggily pulled himself off the bed and went to the bathroom. When he returned, he changed into his sleepwear and snuggled under the covers. He buried his head into his pillows, except, they weren't pillows anymore. Venom had insisted he get rid of them so he could sleep on them instead. Eddie hadn't protested. He loved the feeling of their form against his skin. It was silky soft and always at the perfect temperature.

"Hey, Vee?" Eddie inquired after a moment.

**_Yes Eddie?_ **

Feelers were running through his hair in an attempt to get him to sleep, and also just because they could. They always missed him when he wasn’t near enough to touch.

"Can you show me the stars again?" he asked.

**_Of course._ **

He rolled onto his back and looked up as the ceiling was replaced with that wondrous view of Venom's universe. The room was bathed in ever changing velvet light, the hum of that other world gently filling the quiet. Eddie knew that was just a projection in his head, that the ceiling was still there, but he loved to see it. He'd fallen asleep to it so many times.

"Vee?"

**_Hmm?_ **

"Do you ever miss it, where you come from? I could still set you free, you know."

He could. He still had the pamphlet, and there was a box of everything he would need to do it up in the attic. He'd brought it after a bad week where he just felt like he needed to be alone for a while and got frustrated with Venom's constant presence. He had sat there for two hours stewing over whether to go through with it or not, but then Venom gave him a flower from the garden and all his animosity melted away.

**_Want to be here. You are here._ **

"But before, when I wasn't here. Would you have gone back if you could?"

There was a pause as they thought about their answer.

**_We did consider it. But we would be alone._ **

"What?" Eddie sat up to face the mass of tentacles behind him. "What do you mean?"

**_We are the last. No others. All gone._ **

That simple statement made Eddie's heart break. How had he not known this?

"Oh, Vee. Oh my god." He singled out a large tentacle and hugged it tightly. It curled its length around his waist in response. "Why didn't you say?"

**_Was not relevant. We have you now. All mine._ **

"Damn right I'm yours."

His voice was full of steely determination and the tentacle curled tighter. Smaller feelers ran over his back and arms, kneading into his flesh. He could feel their possessiveness, how much they wanted him, and really, it was a little scary, but only because it was matched by his own. He would die before he let anything happen to them, and do nearly anything to make them happy.

Eddie had never felt this intensely about anyone before. But he’d also never met anyone like Venom before. They had a connection that transcended human relationships. Even the Willard-Campbell’s, with their messed up thinking and frankly cruel treatment of their ‘pet’, knew that life without Venom wasn’t worth living. It was frightening how much Eddie could understand that now.

"You hungry, love?" he asked

**_You are tired._ **

"Never for you."

A tendril smoothed along his cheek and under his chin.

**_My Eddie._ **

"Always."

He took the tendril and kissed it with a smile.

The ooze returned, sliding him gently down onto his back, and making Eddie giggle. Two tentacles glided over his shoulders, across his chest and under his shorts, making sure to nudge his nipples along the way. They both coiled around his dick and began working him up to full hardness.

Eddie let out a small groan and reached backwards. The mass parted so that he could hold onto the headboard. His breathing was already getting heavy. He lifted his hips, and his shorts were worked off completely. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered to wear them at all. One tentacle stayed to pump his cock, the other reached lower to fondle his balls. Eddie's breath hitched and he spread his legs wide, offering himself up, his entrance already willing to be filled.

The one on his balls prodded at it lightly. Tonight, they weren't going to stretch him. Instead they slipped inside, barely the width of a little finger, and Eddie whimpered at not getting to feel it. But then they started to expand, and the fullness made him moan. He wanted them to thrust, to massage his prostate like they knew would drive him crazy. However, Venom had other ideas. They began to vibrate intensely. Eddie let out a surprised yelp, and thrashed on the bed.

They had learned about vibrating one lazy afternoon. Eddie had been surfing the net while Venom languidly moved in and out of his ass. Neither of them were in a hurry to get anywhere, and were just enjoying the sensations of sharing each other when a pop-up for a vibrating butt plug had appeared. Eddie cursed it and wondered what cookies were on his computer, but it had inspired Venom. They stopped moving and began rumbling against his bundle of nerves instead. Eddie practically climbed one of the bed posts, and demanded loudly that Venom mustn't stop. The 'go nowhere' sex suddenly turned into a crashing orgasm that Venom nearly missed. It had become a regular thing they did after that, but it always surprised Eddie when it happened.

Right now the vibrations were making his abs tense up and he rolled his hips trying to get more contact. The tentacle on his dick was moving faster and more feelers joined in to pamper his skin with ravishing touches. Eddie began mewling. Venom knew exactly how to get him into this state, and he fucking loved it. I didn't matter that tonight was a quick one.

_Fast food,_ Eddie thought with a smile. Sometimes they could go at it for hours, Venom giving him back the ability to have multiple orgasms, refilling his balls over and over, or keeping him on edge, denying him till he begged. Either way was exquisite, but totally exhausting. They only did it when Eddie had nowhere to be the next day. It would completely knock him out, but they both found it deeply satisfying.

He didn't know when he had closed his eyes, but he opened them now, determined to stare at that endless star filled sky as his orgasm rose. The tentacle became a sheath over his cock, ready to catch everything Eddie had, but didn't stop pumping. The vibrations were so strong and focused that it was verging on painful now. He was writhing so much, he was so close.

**_My Eddie._ **

And then he was undone. He crashed over that ledge and fell deep into the abyss of pleasure.

"Veeeee!"

He yelled as his whole body tensed at his release, every muscle straining, and then went totally limp. He flopped back, jaw slack, still staring straight up at the beautiful view of space. Tendrils gently prised his hands from the headboard and wrapped themselves between his fingers. Feather light touches graced his skin, wiping away sweat from his face and neck. Eddie's breathing steadied; his heart rate lowered.

The tentacle inside of him still pulsed, sending tiny aftershocks through his system, and making him twitch. Venom slowly turned down their frequency, eking out as much bliss as they could from Eddie's high, but didn't retract it. They knew how he loved to feel full, how much it enhanced his afterglow to know that they were still there. The sheath didn't disappear either. It simply loosened allowing him to go soft, feeling like a gentle tongue licking away anything that was missed.

Deep waves of affection washed over him, along with the satisfaction of eating something delicious. It made Eddie smile whenever Venom compared their sex to a gourmet meal. He never knew he had that kind of culinary talent, but he supposed that Venom was really the chef and he was just the main course. Probably dessert too. The turkey definitely didn't get that kind of reaction.

**_Rest now._ **

Ooze began to form around him, and Eddie's eyelids grew heavy. It hugged him close, better than any lover ever could. He always felt so safe and warm when surrounded by Venom. He never slept better either.

"Love you, Vee," he mumbled.

More tentacles spilled over him, cradling his body, and subtly shifting his position. Eddie nuzzled into them, finally letting himself drift off.

Venom looked down at this person, this human, who from the first moment had shown them kindness. Who treated them as a being, not a sex toy, and who thrilled at showing them new things, and taking them to new places. He had accepted them so totally and completely, even letting them alter his physiology so they could be closer. They felt so lucky that they got to keep him. No one else had ever tried to understand them like Eddie did. No one else cared enough to talk, or just to listen. No one else had ever done as much for them as he had. They knew he went out of his way to feed them. They had lost count of the amount of times he had done something just because he thought they would enjoy it, regardless of whether it nourished them or not. Life with Eddie was full of variety and unexpected pleasure. They never went hungry anymore.

They wrapped around him tighter, protecting their precious person. It was perfect. _He_ was perfect. And they were going to stay with him for the rest of their lives, no question.

**_Love you too, Eddie._ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the love and comments. I'm glad that so many of you have enjoyed my wacky AU. I do actually have a few ideas for a sequel though, so if you'd like to read the further adventures of Eddie and House!Venom, sound off below!
> 
> Kudos is great, but comments make my day! :D


	8. But Wait! There's More...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy my tease for the sequel [On Shaky Ground](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17624468)
> 
> It would never have been written without all you lovely people!

Eddie lurched towards the steps outside his house. The stab wound in his side was leaking profusely despite the pressure he’d been trying to put on it. It was fortunate, really, that it had happened so close to home, but Eddie was still attempting to piece together an answer as to why.

**_Not far now Eddie, just a little more._ **

It had been a regular Friday night and they had stopped off at the bar for a drink, as per usual. He would chat with the bartender a bit, and smile away at Venom’s running commentary, practising sending his replies via thought instead of out loud. After a few beers, they’d wander home while Venom whispered into Eddie’s ear all the things they were going to do to him when he got there. The walk back never took very long.

But tonight, as soon as they’d left the bar, Eddie had been jumped by maybe three, possibly four men. They’d bundled him into an nearby alley, and before Eddie could even properly react, he had felt the white hot kiss of a knife being plunged between his ribs. The gang scarpered after that, not even trying to take his wallet.

Eddie had just sat there in shock afterwards, staring at his hand covered in his blood. It had all happened so fast his mind had lost all coherent thought. Without Venom, he might have still been sitting there.

**_Eddie! We need to get home! NOW!_ **

It was the fear in Venom’s voice that compelled him to move. It knocked him from his daze and brought him back to the present. But without the shock, the pain kicked in. He pushed at his side, biting back a yelp, and trying to stem the bleeding. He began walking as quick as he was able, already  aware of how wet his jeans were getting. He was probably leaving bloody footprints behind.

Eddie dragged himself up the steps to their house, doing his best to hide his anguish so as not to alert the neighbours. The door was already open for him when he finally stumbled inside. He leaned against the wall, panting with the effort, and contemplated climbing yet more stairs. He was already starting to feel light-headed, and cold was seeping into his bones.

**_Come on, Eddie. So close now,_ ** Venom urged.

“I don’t-” He swallowed. “I don’t think I can, love.” The world was starting to go wonky. He pushed his hand harder against his wound, but not even that could cut through the dullness taking over his mind. 

**_Then we will carry you..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow the link at the top, and remember to subscribe when you get there for updates!


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